Transplanting Hope
A scientific breakthrough
As a journalist, you get a rush and a special sense of pride and accomplishment when a story you covered in its early stages emerges as a major news event.
“We were on to something,” you think to yourself. “We got it right.”
So please indulge me if I use this space today to share one such example. It happens to be a happy story to boot.
A couple of weeks ago, headlines around the world announced a major medical breakthrough. A man in Boston had received the first genetically engineered transplanted pig kidney. He not only survived the surgery but also seemed to be doing well.
In the days since I’ve often Googled to see if there was an update.
Well, it came this afternoon: “Patient With Transplanted Pig Kidney Leaves Hospital for Home.” Seeing this, I smiled deeply. My eyes even began to mist.
The patient is 62-year-old Richard “Rick” Slayman, a Massachusetts transportation department supervisor who has been living with kidney failure for years as a result of Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. A previous human kidney transplant failed last year, putting him back on dialysis. He was running out of options.
Now he is home, albeit with a lot of caveats. It’s still early. There could be complications. But he’s alive. “This moment — leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time — is one I wished would come for many years,” he said in a statement.
This is a major milestone for what is known as xenotransplantation — transplanting organs from one species to another. It has long been a dream, and now we are closer to it becoming a reality. Once again, questions remain: There will have to be clinical trials. Success will need to be replicated. And there are logistical and financial questions about scaling up enough genetically engineered pigs.
But there is also something else — hope, real hope.
As The Times article notes: “More than 550,000 Americans have kidney failure and require dialysis, and over 100,000 are on a waiting list to receive a transplanted kidney from a human donor.” That’s a lot of people and a lot of pain. I know many who are suffering and on the waitlist.
The only reason this advance is possible is because of CRISPR, the revolutionary genetic editing tool that allows scientists to precisely cut DNA and then use the processes of nature to edit the genome of potentially any lifeform on Earth. It is transforming basic research and medicine. Two CRISPR pioneers — Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna — were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.
But CRISPR also gives us the power to potentially shape the forces of evolution, with echoes of A Brave New World and the movie Gattaca. Where and how should we draw the line?
I first heard about CRISPR about eight years ago and found it and its capabilities both fascinating and haunting. Working with a great team of filmmakers, including my friend Adam Bolt, who served as director, we produced the first feature-length science documentary I ever worked on: Human Nature.
The film is a sweeping look at the science and societal implications of a once-in-a-generation discovery. We talked to researchers, patients, entrepreneurs, and ethicists. We also profiled a tiny biotech startup in Cambridge, Massachusetts that had a dream of using CRISPR to solve the shortages in transplant organs by editing multiple pig genes to create organs compatible with humans.
That very company, eGenesis, happens to be the one behind Rick Slayman’s new kidney. Wow.
As soon as I saw the headlines last month, I felt that journalistic rush I mentioned above. We were on to this. But ultimately, none of that really matters. What is most important is that science has the potential to once again diminish human pain and suffering. And it is thanks to basic research.
There is a lot yet to be done, but this was a good day for hope.
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If you are interested in learning more about Human Nature, I’ve shared the trailer below (including a cameo from a genetically engineered pig). The film is no longer available on Netflix, but it can be rented or purchased on Amazon here, or wherever you get movies on demand.
If you are interested in the story behind the two brilliant women who pioneered CRISPR and won the Nobel Prize, you can see a short film we made here:
There’s a lot more about CRISPR on our Science Communication Lab website.
It is hard not to compare these scientist, devoting their lives to the betterment of life, to the measly creatures tearing this country and the world apart for their own personal riches. It is so good to read about the best side of humanity for a change. Thank you Elliot! And bless you Rick Slayman.
Thank you Elliot for this touching story about Rick Slayman, who received a porcine kidney xenograft to treat his renal failure, and your cinematographic role in covering the CRISPER-enabled engineering of these porcine organs for transplant into humans. Equally amazing is the technique developed by Jennifer Daudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier that has allowed the production of the kidney received by Rick Slayman as well as the cure of Sickle Cell patients by using CRISPER to activate the production of fetal hemoglobin in their cells. These are truly wonderful stories of the fruits of basic research being applied to treat human diseases.