Alabama Woman Ends Record-Breaking 130-Day Journey with Pig Kidney Transplant

Washington, United States — In a milepost for medical science, Towana Looney, an Alabama woman who lived with a pig kidney for a record 130 days, had the organ surgically removed after her body began rejecting it. She has now returned to dialysis, a doctor from NYU Langone Health announced on Friday.

Looney underwent the excision surgery on April 4 and is now back home in Gadsden, Alabama. Despite the setback, she expressed gratitude for being part of a groundbreaking experiment.

"Though the outcome is not what anyone wanted, I know a lot was learned from my 130 days with a pig kidney – and that this can help and inspire many others in their journey to overcoming kidney disease," Looney said.

The procedure was part of the ongoing effort to address the critical shortage of transplantable human organs. In the U.S., over 100,000 people are on the transplant waiting list, most of them needing a kidney. Sadly, many die while waiting.

To meet the urgent demand, scientists are genetically modifying pigs to make their organs more suitable for humans—a process known as xenotransplantation. Before Looney, only four Americans had received gene-edited pig organs—two hearts and two kidneys—but none of those organs lasted beyond two months. All those patients were seriously ill and later died.

Looney, who had been on dialysis since 2016, was not eligible for a traditional transplant due to her body’s high likelihood of rejecting a human kidney. She bravely volunteered for this experimental pig kidney transplant and even dubbed herself “superwoman” as the organ functioned well for over four months.

Dr. Robert Montgomery, a pioneer in xenotransplants and Looney’s surgeon explained that the exact cause of rejection is still under investigation. He and Looney decided together that removing the Kidney was safer than continuing with sturdier anti-rejection drugs, which could have posed serious risks.

"We did the safe thing," Montgomery told The Associated Press. "She's no worse off than she was before (the xenotransplant), and she would tell you she's better off because she had this 4 1/2 month break from dialysis."

A prior infection and a reduction in immune-suppressing drugs may have contributed to the rejection, he added. These variables, along with her immune system reactivating, likely harmed the new organ.

Rejection is a constant risk in all transplants. Doctors must strike a delicate balance between preventing rejection and allowing the body to fight infections.

Despite the outcome, Looney’s venture marks a valuable step forward in the ambitious and evolving field of xenomedicine.