Rob Stein

Yeah. And last month, I was there for the very first transplant surgery of one of the Rivivacor kidneys with these 10 genetic modifications into a living patient.

Yeah, I was inside the OR for the entire operation. And, you know, Gina, this is, I should say, very controversial in a lot of ways. I talked to bioethicists and scientists who have a lot of concerns, you know, concerns about the pigs, about the patients themselves who are desperate for anything, and even the possibility that this could cause a pandemic by spreading pig viruses to people.

Yeah, I was inside the OR for the entire operation. And, you know, Gina, this is, I should say, very controversial in a lot of ways. I talked to bioethicists and scientists who have a lot of concerns, you know, concerns about the pigs, about the patients themselves who are desperate for anything, and even the possibility that this could cause a pandemic by spreading pig viruses to people.

Yeah, I was inside the OR for the entire operation. And, you know, Gina, this is, I should say, very controversial in a lot of ways. I talked to bioethicists and scientists who have a lot of concerns, you know, concerns about the pigs, about the patients themselves who are desperate for anything, and even the possibility that this could cause a pandemic by spreading pig viruses to people.

So this operating room is in New York City. And in the room, there was this huge screen on the wall with the flight path of one set of surgeons. They're flying back from rural Virginia with two kidneys from one of the cloned geneated pigs being bred at the Rivercore Research Farm.

So this operating room is in New York City. And in the room, there was this huge screen on the wall with the flight path of one set of surgeons. They're flying back from rural Virginia with two kidneys from one of the cloned geneated pigs being bred at the Rivercore Research Farm.

So this operating room is in New York City. And in the room, there was this huge screen on the wall with the flight path of one set of surgeons. They're flying back from rural Virginia with two kidneys from one of the cloned geneated pigs being bred at the Rivercore Research Farm.

Yeah, I met her a few minutes before they brought her into the OR. She's a 53-year-old grandmother. Her name is Tawana Looney. She donated one of her kidneys to her mother in 1999. A few years later, she developed chronic high blood pressure during her pregnancy, and her remaining kidney failed in 2016. And since then, she's been on dialysis four hours a day, three days a week.

Yeah, I met her a few minutes before they brought her into the OR. She's a 53-year-old grandmother. Her name is Tawana Looney. She donated one of her kidneys to her mother in 1999. A few years later, she developed chronic high blood pressure during her pregnancy, and her remaining kidney failed in 2016. And since then, she's been on dialysis four hours a day, three days a week.

Yeah, I met her a few minutes before they brought her into the OR. She's a 53-year-old grandmother. Her name is Tawana Looney. She donated one of her kidneys to her mother in 1999. A few years later, she developed chronic high blood pressure during her pregnancy, and her remaining kidney failed in 2016. And since then, she's been on dialysis four hours a day, three days a week.

Oh, absolutely. It's very experimental. There have been other patients who've received other kinds of genetic pig kidneys and even hearts, and those organs seem to work well.

Oh, absolutely. It's very experimental. There have been other patients who've received other kinds of genetic pig kidneys and even hearts, and those organs seem to work well.

Oh, absolutely. It's very experimental. There have been other patients who've received other kinds of genetic pig kidneys and even hearts, and those organs seem to work well.

But the patients in those cases were gravely ill with many other health problems and only survived weeks or maybe months. But like I said earlier, this is the first transplant of this specific kind of genetically modified pig kidney into a living person.

But the patients in those cases were gravely ill with many other health problems and only survived weeks or maybe months. But like I said earlier, this is the first transplant of this specific kind of genetically modified pig kidney into a living person.

But the patients in those cases were gravely ill with many other health problems and only survived weeks or maybe months. But like I said earlier, this is the first transplant of this specific kind of genetically modified pig kidney into a living person.

Yeah, that's right. In fact, the company's in conversation with the FDA to get approval for this right now, but it hasn't happened yet. So this was an exception to the FDA's usual requirements. It's called a compassionate use case, which, you know, gives patients who are desperately ill and basically have no other options access to experimental treatments.

Yeah, that's right. In fact, the company's in conversation with the FDA to get approval for this right now, but it hasn't happened yet. So this was an exception to the FDA's usual requirements. It's called a compassionate use case, which, you know, gives patients who are desperately ill and basically have no other options access to experimental treatments.

Yeah, that's right. In fact, the company's in conversation with the FDA to get approval for this right now, but it hasn't happened yet. So this was an exception to the FDA's usual requirements. It's called a compassionate use case, which, you know, gives patients who are desperately ill and basically have no other options access to experimental treatments.

And Tawana has an especially sensitive immune system, so doctors knew her body would reject a human kidney.