Actions

Alabama woman has pig kidney removed after record 130 days

While it’s a disappointing setback in the ongoing quest for animal-to-human transplants, Towana Looney thanked her doctors in a statement for the opportunity to be part of the research.
Pig Kidney Removal
Posted

An Alabama woman who received a pig kidney transplant had the organ removed after her body began rejecting it.

Towana Looney lived with the kidney for a record 130 days before it was taken out on April 4 at NYU Langone Health in New York, doctors said.

She is back in Alabama on dialysis and recovering well from the recent surgery, according to the doctors.

RELATED STORY | Alabama woman receives genetically modified pig kidney in rare animal transplant

While it’s a disappointing setback in the ongoing quest for animal-to-human transplants, Looney thanked her doctors in a statement for the opportunity to be part of the research.

She hopes her experience — and the knowledge gained from it — can help and inspire others to overcome kidney disease.

Looney received the transplanted animal organ in a breakthrough surgery back in Dec. 2024. Doctors said a traditional transplant would be too risky because of the antibodies in her bloodstream.

Scientists have been genetically altering pigs so their organs are more humanlike to address a shortage in life-saving organ transplants.

More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, most needing a kidney.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Saturday

04/26/2025

Rain/Thunder

58° / 48°

81%

Sunday

04/27/2025

Partly Cloudy

65° / 52°

4%

Monday

04/28/2025

Partly Cloudy

72° / 54°

4%

Tuesday

04/29/2025

Sunny

84° / 60°

2%

Wednesday

04/30/2025

Partly Cloudy

87° / 61°

1%

Thursday

05/01/2025

Mostly Sunny

88° / 62°

0%

Friday

05/02/2025

Mostly Sunny

87° / 60°

5%

Saturday

05/03/2025

Partly Cloudy

75° / 54°

23%