Pig Kidney Removed From Woman After Living With It for 130 Days

Towana Looney, 53, who received a gene-edited pig kidney, undergoes medical testing at NYU Langone Health on December 11, 2024, in New York © Angela Weiss, AFP

History was made in the surgical world as Towana Looney, an Alabama woman in her fifties, had a pig kidney removed from her body after living with it for four months. The kidney was removed due to a rejection of the genetically modified organ from Looney’s body being spotted by doctors.

According to the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, the kidney was still functioning well, but it had been rejected because Looneh had to reduce her anti-rejection medication due to an infection. The medication was used to stabilize the body’s immune system to prevent it from attacking the implanted organ.

The pig kidney was first transferred into Looney on November 25 in New York after unsuccessful attempts in pairing Looney up with a human donor.

"Towana Looney's genetically engineered pig kidney functioned well for over four months, and she was able to enjoy life without dialysis for the first time in nine years," Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who operated, said in a statement.

The decision to remove the pig kidney was taken jointly by Looney and her doctors to preserve "future possibilities for transplantation."

Doctors said she recovered rapidly from the April 4 operation, was discharged from the hospital on the fifth day after surgery, and "is back home in Alabama doing well."