An Alabama woman is thriving after receiving a pig organ transplant. She’s also the longest living recipient, having had her new kidney for over two months.
Towana Looney joked that she’s ‘superwoman’ and said she often outpaces her family members on long ways as she continues her recovery.
Including Looney, only five animal-to-human transplants have been performed in the world. The four other Americans who received the gene-edited organs – two kidneys and two hearts – were initially well but did not survive for more than two months after the procedure.

Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led Looney’s transplant, said she’s doing so well that ‘[you] would never know that she’s the only person in the world with a functioning pig organ inside them’.
According to recent tests, her kidney function is ‘absolutely normal’. He’s optimistic that she will be able to leave New York and return home to Alabama in another month after she finishes her post-transplant checkups.
Making Animal-to-Human Transplants a Reality
Every year, thousands of people die before a compatible organ becomes available on the donor waiting list. To address the shortage, scientists have started to genetically modify pig organs to make then more human-life so they can be used to save lives.
So far, pig organ transplants have only been used in cases where the individual is completely out of options.
In preparation for the world’s first study of animal-to-human transplantation, which is expected to begin later this year, hospitals that have performed the procedure are sharing details on what worked and what didn’t.
The trial was requested by United Therapeutics, the company that supplied Looney with the genetically modified pig kidney.
Dr. Tatsuo Kawai, who led the world’s first pig kidney transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital last year, said how Looney recovers will be a ‘very precious experience’ as she was much healthier than the other patients who received the pig organs.
He said her progress will provide insight that will help subsequent transplant attempts.
Looney’s Case
In 1999, Looney donated a kidney to her mother. During a subsequent pregnancy, her remaining kidney was damaged due to high blood pressure. It eventually failed, which is something that is super rare among living kidney donors.
She eventually spent eight years on dialysis before being told by doctors that she would likely never receive a donated organ as her body had developed antibodies that would attack another human kidney.
So she decided to seek out the pig experiment.
Her surgery was performed on November 25 and she was discharged 11 days later, with her medical team closely tracking her recovery. About three weeks after the procedure, they noticed subtle signs – ones that they’d learned to look for from a 2023 experiment – that indicated rejection.
Looney was successfully treated for the symptoms and there has been no signs of rejection since.
While there’s no way to know how long the new kidney will work for Looney, there’s always the possibility of dialysis if it fails. Nevertheless, her doctors will be continuing to keep a close watch on her.