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An Alabama woman has become the first living person to receive a kidney from a new kind of genetically modified pig. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein broke this news this morning with an exclusive report from inside the operating room where she underwent the procedure. Now he brings us this follow-up report about her recovery so far.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: It's been two weeks since I spent the day inside an OR at NYU Langone Health in New York City, watching surgeons stitch a kidney from a genetically modified pig into Towana Looney's body.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOORBELL CHIMING)
STEIN: Today, I'm back to visit the 53-year-old grandmother in a nearby apartment where she was discharged a few days earlier.
Hi. Rob Stein from NPR - thank you for letting me come over.
TOWANA LOONEY: You're welcome.
STEIN: Looney's staying here for three months so doctors can monitor her closely.
How are you doing?
LOONEY: I am doing wonderful.
STEIN: Yeah. You look amazing. I got to say, you look great (laughter).
LOONEY: (Laughter) Thank you.
STEIN: You'd never know she's been suffering through kidney failure for nearly eight years and just went through a seven-hour operation to get a pig kidney.
LOONEY: I feel like a whole new person, like I got a second chance in life.
STEIN: What's that like for you?
LOONEY: A big change. I got to get used to it.
STEIN: Yeah. I can only imagine.
LOONEY: Yes (laughter).
STEIN: Gone are all the symptoms that have made her miserable.
LOONEY: No weakness, no tiredness, no fatigue, no swelling from fluid intake. I can eat more. I can drink more. I can walk longer distance. It's just amazing.
STEIN: Looney's wearing monitors so doctors can track her vitals in real time, and she stops by the hospital every morning for blood tests. Otherwise, she's been cooking, shopping, exploring New York with her husband. She wears a mask and stays away from crowds - the anti-rejection drugs she's taking leave her vulnerable. Looney pulls out a big purple plastic pill container.
(SOUNDBITE OF PLASTIC CRINKLING)
LOONEY: The top one is magnesium and potassium. Bottom is antibiotic and a rejection medicine for bedtime.
STEIN: Her immune system would reject a human kidney, so she jumped at her doctor's offer of a pig kidney, genetically modified to help her body accept the organ, even though it's still experimental.
LOONEY: She said, I think I got a way to get you a kidney, but it's not a human kidney. It's a pig kidney. I said, OK, where do I sign? She said, no, no, no. You sure? 'Cause this is new ground for everybody. This ain't been done, and, you know, this could happen, that could happen. We just don't know, Towana. I said, OK. Where do I sign? What do I got to lose?
STEIN: Surgeons had already transplanted two other kinds of genetically modified pig kidneys into two other patients in Boston and New York and two pig hearts into two men in Maryland. None of those patients survived more than three months, but they were much sicker, making doctors hopeful that Looney may fare better. I spoke to her doctor from Alabama, Jayme Locke, when she assisted with the surgery.
JAYME LOCKE: And here she is today. I'm excited for her to get her life back and be able to do all the things that she wants to be able to go on to do. She's a true pioneer.
STEIN: Looney says she was thrilled the first time she could pee after the surgery - the first time in more than seven years that she lived without a functioning kidney.
LOONEY: I was like, wow. I told the nurse, I'm peeing. She said, no kidding (laughter). She said, you're peeing a lot, which is a good thing. That was exciting to me. That's a feeling that I guess a kid would have when they get potty trained.
(LAUGHTER)
STEIN: Now, some worry that pig organs could spread dangerous viruses to people - even trigger another pandemic - also about the well-being of the pigs, and then there's the issue of experimenting on desperately ill patients. Dr. Lainie Ross is a bioethicist at the University of Rochester.
LAINIE ROSS: We're taking people who have no other alternatives, and that becomes a real problem as on whether they can really give a consent when they're so desperate, particularly at this time, while it's still experimental.
STEIN: The scientists say they're making sure pig viruses don't spread to people. All the volunteers are fully informed about the risks, and the animals are treated humanely. Proponents argue people kill far more pigs for food each year. But Looney's doctors concede they have no idea how long the kidney may work for Looney. In fact, she's back in the hospital for a few nights, getting another anti-rejection drug. The pig kidney is still looking good, though, and Looney is just grateful for a chance.
LOONEY: It's amazing, life-changing. There's so much I want to do. I just want to go shopping and not have to sit down. And I want to eat what I want to eat while I'm shopping. And I want to travel and stay more than three days - I ain't got to come back for dialysis (laughter).
STEIN: She can't wait to go home to Gadsden, Alabama - back to her job as a cashier in a Dollar General and spending more time with her two daughters and two grandchildren. But first, they're planning to visit her for Christmas in New York.
Rob Stein, NPR News, New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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