Towana Looney, 53, of Gadsden, Ala., will get prepared to move into the working room at NYU Langone Well being in New York Metropolis to get a genetically modified pig kidney transplant.
Joe Carrotta for NYU Langone Well being
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Joe Carrotta for NYU Langone Well being
Towana Looney, 53, of Gadsden, Ala., will get prepared to move into the working room at NYU Langone Well being in New York Metropolis to get a genetically modified pig kidney transplant.
Joe Carrotta for NYU Langone Well being
Towana Looney grew to become the primary dwelling individual on the earth to get a kidney from a brand new type of genetically modified pig final month. Looney is a 53-year-old grandmother from Gadsden, Ala.
She’s been on dialysis for 4 hours a day, three days per week since 2016. Her immune system would reject a human kidney. So the Meals and Drug Administration made an exception to its ordinary medical examine necessities to permit Looney this new type of pig kidney.
Utilizing pig organs like that is extremely experimental, however her medical doctors say it is her solely likelihood. Even so, the process is controversial. Some fear animal organs may unfold viruses to individuals, others are uncomfortable exploiting animals for his or her organs and a few fear that sufferers in circumstances like Looney’s really feel like they must say sure to the process.
Learn extra of science correspondent Rob Stein’s reporting right here.
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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and Jessica Yung and edited by showrunner Rebecca Ramirez. Rob and Tyler Jones checked the information. Patrick Murray was the audio engineer.