Towana Looney, a 53-year-old Gadsden resident, has made history as the longest-living patient to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. She has been thriving for more than 62 days post-procedure, following eight years on dialysis.
Looney remains in New York City under the care of doctors at NYU Langone Health, where she continues to make remarkable progress.
“I’m superwoman,” Looney said, reflecting on her recovery. “It’s a new take on life.”
She also laughingly shared that she has been outpacing family members on long walks around the city.
According to the Associated Press, Looney’s case marks a breakthrough in xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting organs from one species to another. She is only the fifth patient to receive a genetically modified pig organ, joining two recipients of pig hearts and two of pig kidneys. Tragically, the other four patients did not survive beyond two months, making Looney’s milestone all the more significant.
The ground-breaking procedure was made possible through the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Compassionate Use Program, which provides experimental treatments to critically ill patients with no other options. For Looney’s transplant, scientists modified ten genes in a pig kidney to reduce the risk of rejection.
“Her kidney function is absolutely normal,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, the surgeon who led her transplant. “If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea that she’s the only person in the world walking around with a functioning pig organ inside them.”
ABC News reported that the breakthrough offers hope to thousands awaiting life-saving organs. This progress is supported by extensive research conducted at a secure facility in Virginia’s mountains, where genetically modified pigs are raised specifically for transplantation. Scientists there edit pig genes to create organs compatible with human recipients, improving outcomes with each case.
Looney’s journey to this moment has been extraordinary. Her kidney issues began in 1999 when she donated a kidney to her mother. Years later, complications from pregnancy caused high blood pressure, leading to the failure of her remaining kidney. After spending eight years on dialysis and developing antibodies that attacked human organs, Looney sought out the experimental pig transplant as her best hope.
Her case has already contributed invaluable data to the medical community. Dr. Tatsuo Kawai of Massachusetts General Hospital, who led the world’s first pig kidney transplant last year, emphasized that Looney’s progress will “inform future attempts and help doctors refine the procedure for other patients.”
Medical professionals hope Looney can return to her Gadsden home in about a month, but her impact on medical science will endure far beyond her recovery.
