Two months after the first pig kidney transplant, a man passes away.

The first man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has passed on two months after his successful operation, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) which carried out the procedure has said. Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, was battling with end-stage kidney disease prior to the operation in March. In a statement on Sunday, March 12, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) clarified that there has not been any established indication that his death was a result of the transplant. According to the BBC report, the operation on Mr. Slayman was applauded as a historic milestone because transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have not been successful in the past. Aside his suffer from kidney disease, Richard Slayman was also dealing with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The BBC said Slayman had received a human kidney transplant in 2018 which failed after five years. The reason, he needed another kidney transplant. According to doctors who operated on Slayman, he no longer needed dialysis after the new pig kidney transplanted on him was said to be functioning well. “Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement. Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family. Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration. “Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said. “Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever. “To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added. While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure. Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later. In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.