Alabama woman, the only person in the world with a functional pork organ, reached a record turning point of 2 months

A woman from Alabama who is the only living recipient a Powder organs transplant On Saturday, she crossed a large turning point when she became the longest -running person with a functional pork organ.

Towana Looney, 53, remains healthy and full of energy, reaching a record limit of 61 days with his pork kidney on Saturday.

“I’m a superza,” Looney told Associated Press. – It’s a new view of life.

Only four other Americans received experimental transplants of genetically decorated pork organs – the two got their heart and the other two kidneys – but none of them lived for more than two months.

She received a woman’s transplantation from a pork kidney, leaving the hospital days later: ‘Second chance’ ‘

“If you saw her on the street, you wouldn’t have the idea that she was the only person in the world walking around with a pork organ in himself,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery of Nyu Langone Health, who led Looney’s transplant.

Montgomery said Looney’s kidney function was “absolutely normal”. She was temporarily staying in New York so she could make reviews after a transplant, but doctors hope to be able to return home for Gadsden, Alabamain about a month.

“We are pretty optimistic that this will continue to function and function well through, you know, a significant time period,” Montgomery said.

Scientists genetically change pigs to make their organs more similar to human to support a serious lack of human organs that can be used for transplantation.

More than 100,000 people are on the US transplant list. Most of these individuals need a kidney, and thousands are dying waiting.

The food and medication administration allows the transplanting of pork organs only in special circumstances for people who have run out of other alternatives.

Dr. Tatsuo Kawai from Massachusetts General Hospital, who led the first pork kidney transplant last year and works with another development programmer for pigs, Egenesis, said Looney doing a “very valuable experience”.

Looney was far healthier than previous recipients of pork organs, according to Kawai, who said her progress would help to inform a doctor about future attempts.

“We have to learn from each other,” he said.

In 1999, Looney donated a kidney to her mother, and later complications in pregnancy caused high blood pressure that damaged her remaining kidneywho eventually failed, which is a rare circumstance among living donors.

She spent eight years on dialysis before doctors concluded that it was unlikely that she would get a donated organ, as she developed very high levels of antibodies that are abnormally ready to attack the other human kidney.

Looney, looking for an alternative, wanted to try an experiment with pork organs. No one knew how it would work for someone “highly sensitive” with overly active antibodies.

Montgomery’s team was closely accompanied by Looney’s recovery using blood tests and other measurements from Operation 25. November. About three weeks after the transplant, subtle signs were discovered that rejection began. They knew how to look for these signs because of the experiment of 2023 when a pork kidney worked for 61 days within a deceased man whose body was donated to research.

Massachusetts man, the recipient of the first successful pork kidney transplant, was discharged from the hospital

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Montgomery said his team had successfully treated Looney and that there had been no sign of rejection since then.

It is impossible to predict how long Looney’s new kidney will work. But if it fails, she could get a dialysis again.

“The truth is, we don’t really know what the following obstacles are because this is the first time we’ve gotten this far,” Montgomery said. “We’ll have to keep watching her carefully.”

Associated Press contributed to this report.