An Alabama woman is the only living beneficiary of Pig organ transplantation She passed a major milestone on Saturday when she became the tallest living person with a working pig organ.
Towana Looney, 53, remains healthy and full of energy, reaching the 61-day milestone with her pig kidney on Saturday.
“I'm a super walker,” Looney told The Associated Press. “It's a new life experience.”
Only four other Americans received experimental transplants of gene-edited pig organs—two receiving a heart while the other two received a kidney—but none of them lived more than two months.
Woman receives pig kidney transplant, discharged from hospital days later: 'Second chance'
Tovanna Looney, who received a pig kidney transplant in November 2024, goes through remarks about her recovery with Dr. Jeffrey Stern at NYU Langone Health in New York, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP)
“If you saw them on the street, you would have no idea that they were the only person in the world walking around with a pig organ inside them,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery of New Langone Health, who led the Losens' Losses.
Montgomery said Looney's kidney function is “absolutely normal.” She has remained in New York temporarily so she can receive post-transplant scans, but doctors are hopeful she will be able to return home Gadsden, Alabamain about a month.
“We're quite optimistic that this will continue to work and do well for, you know, a significant period of time,” Montgomery said.
Scientists are genetically altering pigs so their organs resemble human ones to support a severe shortage of human organs that can be used in transplants.
More than 100,000 people are on the US transplant list. Most of these individuals need kidneys, and thousands die waiting.
The Food and Drug Administration only allows pig organ transplants in special circumstances for people who have run out of other alternatives.
How well Lonnie does is “a very valuable experience,” said Dr. Tatsuo Kawai of Massachusetts General Hospital, who led the world's first pig kidney transplant last year and is working with another pig developer, egenesis.
Towana Looney sits at an NYU Langone health press conference on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. (Fox News)
Lonnie was much healthier than previous pig organ recipients, according to Quay, who said her progress will help inform doctors for future attempts.
“We have to learn from each other,” he said.
Lonnie donated a kidney to her mother in 1999 and pregnancy complications later caused her to have high blood pressure Her remaining kidney was damagedwhich ultimately failed, a rare circumstance among living donors.
She spent eight years on dialysis before doctors decided she was unlikely to receive a donor organ, because she had developed very high levels of antibodies that are abnormally poised to attack another human kidney.
Looney, looking for an alternative, wanted to try experimenting with pig organs. No one knows how it would work in a “highly sensitive” person with overactive antibodies.
Montgomery's team has closely tracked Looney's recovery through blood tests and other measurements since the Nov. 25 surgery. About three weeks after the transplant, subtle signs were discovered that rejection had begun. They knew to look for these signs because of a 2023 experiment when a pig kidney functioned for 61 days inside a deceased man whose body had been donated for research.
Massachusetts man received first successful pig kidney transplant from hospital
Outside the entrance to the NYU Health emergency room on April 6, 2020, in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Montgomery said his team successfully dealt with Leoni and there have been no signs of rejection since.
It's impossible to predict when Khloe will be working in her new color. But if they fail, you may receive dialysis again.
“The truth is we don't really know what the next hurdles are because this is the first time we've come this far,” Montgomery said. “We will have to continue to monitor it closely.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
