Heart Complications, Not Pig Kidney, Led to Transplant Patient's Death
Rick Slayman, a 62-year-old man from Weymouth, died from an unexpected cardiac event two months after receiving a kidney transplant from a genetically engineered pig, according to doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital. The transplant was not rejected by his body, and his death was unrelated to the organ. Slayman, who had a known heart condition, was the first living person to undergo this procedure, which aimed to offer hope to the over 100,000 people in need of organ transplants.