Woman, 53, Has ‘Never Felt Better' After Undergoing Pig Kidney Transplant: 'It's Like a New Beginning'

• Towana Looney, 53, recovers from kidney surgery — using an organ from a genetically engineered pig — on Nov. 25 at NYU Langone Health in New York
• “It’s like a new beginning,” the Alabama woman told The Associated Press
• “Having a functioning kidney – and feeling it – is amazing,” she added to the news agency

An Alabama woman is “recovering well” after undergoing a pig kidney transplant in New York, according to reports.

Towana Looney, 53, underwent surgery using organs from a genetically engineered pig on Nov. 25 at NYU Langone Health after eight years of dialysis, the Associated Press reports.

Looney had already donated a kidney to her mother in 1999, before her remaining kidney was later damaged — and eventually failed — due to pregnancy complications, the AP reported. She developed high levels of antibodies, which meant she was likely to reject other organs that kidney donors had to offer.

Looney is the fifth American patient to receive a genetically engineered pig organ since 2022 and only the third to receive a kidney, according to The New York Times. Previous patients died a few months after surgery.

Looney — who was released from the hospital 11 days after the surgery — is now “recovering well,” according to the AP, despite being “temporarily readmitted this week to adjust her medications.”

“It’s like a new beginning,” she told the news agency, adding, “The energy I had was incredible. To have a functioning kidney — and to feel it — is incredible.”

Photo of a scientist sorting eggs as he prepares them for injection of genetic modifications.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

Couple married 13 years after meeting as teenagers with kidney transplant: ‘I couldn’t see my life without him’

“You don’t know if it’s going to work or not until you try,” she admitted, according to the outlet.

Looney — who is expected to return home to Gadsden, Ala., in three months, according to the AP — said NY Times that she had “never felt better” in an interview before being readmitted to the hospital.

“I’m used to doing one task, sitting down and resting, and then going to do another task. I’m multitasking now!” she added, adding that she spent time on dialysis — a treatment that removes extra fluid and waste from the blood when your kidneys can’t do it.

dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health and Dr. Jayme Locke — Looney’s original doctor — worked together on the transplant. It was eventually approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after Looney first applied in April 2023.

“It’s amazing to see hope restored to her and her family,” Locke said, according to the AP.

“In many ways this was her only option,” the doctor added NY Times.

Despite knowing the risks, Looney said, “OK, where do I sign?”, adding that Locke warned her of the dangers and the fact that the operation was “new ground.”

Teenager with rare genetic mutation gets heart and kidney transplant within a year: ‘Not everyone makes it’ (Exclusive)

Pigs are shown in temporary cages as they await the implantation of embryos from genetically altered pigs.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Scientists are now “genetically altering pigs to make their organs more human-like,” the AP reported. The release adds that more than 100,000 people remain on the US transplant list, many of whom are waiting for a kidney. According to USA Today about 5,600 Americans die each year waiting for a human organ to become available.

Looney’s kidney “came from a pig with 10 genetic changes” and was “provided by Revivicor, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corporation,” according to NY Times.

“This could completely change the math of end-organ failure and what that means in terms of the likelihood of getting a transplant,” Montgomery – who himself has had a heart transplant – told the news outlet.

“Xenotransplantation [the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from individuals of species into another species, per the National Institutes of Health] it’s about eliminating that gambling,” he added.

NYU Langone Health did not immediately respond when PEOPLE contacted them for additional information about Looney’s recovery.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education