In late November, Towana Looney, 53, underwent transplant surgery at New York City-based NYU Langone. Ms. Looney received the first 10-gene-edited pig kidney, becoming the third person in the world to receive a pig kidney, according to NYU Langone.
At the two-month mark, the Gaston, Ala., resident became the longest-living recipient of a gene-edited pig organ. Previous xenotransplant patients were in poorer health conditions than Ms. Looney, according to Robert Montgomery, MD, PhD, director of NYU Langone’s Transplant Institute.
The team will continue to monitor Ms. Looney, who will return to New York for monthly checkups.
