Audio: The ethics of organ transplants and encouraging more live donors

[Clark]

https://www.wvxu.org/show/cincinnati-edition/2024-04-10/ethics-organ-transplants-donors

The ethics of organ transplants and encouraging more live donors
Published April 10, 2024 at 4:00 AM EDT
LISTEN • 48:09


Doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston say they have transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a 62-year-old patient. The hospital said Thursday, March 21, 2024, it’s the first time a pig kidney has been transplanted into a living person.
News of the first-ever patient to receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig spread around the world. The procedure was a success, and Richard Slayman was discharged from the hospital. But the case has raised many questions about whether this is the answer to an organ shortage and whether it’s ethical.
As around 100,000 Americans wait on transplant lists, there’s a race to improve the transplant process. On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss the latest science and examine the ethical questions. We’ll also hear how a local program is raising awareness about living kidney donation and helping families identify donors.
Guests:
Michael Gusmano, Ph.D., professor of health policy, Lehigh University
Lenny Bernstein, former reporter, The Washington Post
Darci Gibson, founder and president, Off The List, Inc.
Tricia Monson, clinical manager for transplants, The Christ Hospital Health Network
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Listen on-demand. Audio for this segment will be uploaded to this page by 4 p.m. ET., or subscribe to our podcast.

[Clark]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/1st-person-to-receive-a-pig-kidney-transplant-has-died/ar-BB1mjPtN

1st person to receive a pig kidney transplant has died
Story by Emily Cooke

The first person to receive a pig kidney transplant has died just two months after he underwent the groundbreaking procedure.

Rick Slayman, a 62-year-old from Weymouth, Massachusetts, had a genetically modified pig kidney placed in his body as part of a four-hour, pioneering surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital on March 16.

Slayman had end-stage kidney disease and had previously received a human kidney transplant, which showed signs of failure after a few years. His doctors proposed the experimental pig kidney transplant as Slayman was restarting dialysis and experiencing severe complications.

The doctors hoped that the pig kidney could last years, CNN reported, but, as such a transplant hasn't been done before, there was uncertainty about how well it would take. Slayman died just weeks after his surgery, but his medical team says there's no evidence the transplant was related to Slayman's death.

"The Mass General transplant team is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman," the hospital shared in a statement on Saturday (May 11). "We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant." The statement did not detail Slayman's cause of death.

[Clark]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/health/pig-kidney-transplant-not-linked-to-mans-death-doctors-say/vi-BB1mnWBV?t=10&ocid=socialshare