Woman becomes world’s longest-living recipient of pig organ transplant: ‘I feel like superwoman’
A US woman has become the world’s longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant, after living healthily with her new kidney for 61 days.
Towana Looney, 53, received the experimental organ in November after spending nearly eight years on the organ transplant list with little hope of finding a match.
She donated a kidney to her mother in 1999 but developed kidney failure several years later after a complication during pregnancy.
But now, she said she feels like “superwoman” after the successful transplant, laughing about outpacing family members on long walks around New York City.
Towana Looney. Pic: Ms Looney / NYU Langone Health
“It’s a new take on life,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
She left the hospital just 11 days after her operation and is staying in New York for another month to be observed by doctors before heading home to Alabama.
Only four other Americans have received transplants of gene-edited pig organs and none lived for more than two months.
“If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea that she’s the only person in the world walking around with a pig organ inside them that’s functioning,” said Dr Robert Montgomery from NYU Langone Health, who led Ms Looney’s transplant.
Dr Montgomery called Ms Looney’s kidney function “absolutely normal”.
Towana Looney being brought into the operating room. Pic: Joe Carrotta/NYU Langone Health
Ms Looney’s success means her medical team are now in unchartered territory.
“The truth is we don’t really know what the next hurdles are because this is the first time we’ve gotten this far,” Dr Montgomery said.
“We’ll have to continue to really keep a close eye on her.”
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Genetically altered pig organs could help solve a severe shortage of organs available for transplant.
There are around 7,500 people on the UK Transplant Waiting List, according to the NHS.
Last year more than 415 people died while waiting for a transplant.
In the US, more than 100,000 people are waiting for a transplant, most who need a kidney.
Transplant surgeon Dr Jayme Locke, Towana Looney and Dr Robert Montgomery. Pic: Mateo Salcedo/NYU Langone Health
“It’s a blessing,” said Looney. “I feel like I’ve been given another chance at life. I cannot wait to be able to travel again and spend more quality time with my family and grandchildren.”
There have been no UK transplants like Ms Looney’s, but in the US a handful of hospitals are sharing information about what worked and what did not.
That’s in preparation for the world’s first formal studies of xenotransplantation, which is expected to begin some time this year.
“Towana represents the culmination of progress we have made in xenotransplantation since we performed the first surgery in 2021,” said Dr Montgomery.
“She serves as a beacon of hope to those struggling with kidney failure.”
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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