By Aryan Saini

In a historic medical feat that has captured global attention, 62-year-old Richard "Rick" Slayman made headlines and emerged as a beacon of hope in the field of organ transplantation. Recently, Slayman underwent a groundbreaking procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), marking a monumental stride forward in medical science. MGH is the Harvard Medical School’s largest teaching hospital in Boston in the U.S.

Slayman was battling end-stage kidney disease and urgently needed an organ transplant. Previous attempts at such surgeries worldwide had met with disappointment, making Slayman's successful operation a significant milestone in medical science. On March 16, a team of medical experts conducted a meticulous four-hour procedure, transplanting a genetically modified pig kidney into Slayman's body. It is too early to say how Slayman’s body is going to react to the transplant in weeks, months, and years from now, but nevertheless, it is a great milestone for science.

While Slayman's surgery marks a huge advancement in the field of organ transplantation, this isn't the first instance of utilising pig organs in such procedures. Prior attempts involving pig heart transplants, though pioneering, unfortunately ended in tragedy with the recipients succumbing mere weeks later. While there are multiple challenges and risks involved in these surgeries, scientists across the world have been making groundbreaking discoveries in such transplant techniques.

Despite strides in modern medicine globally, India's investment in organ transplant research and procedures lags behind. The world witnessed its first successful organ transplant with a kidney transplantation procedure conducted by David Hume and Joseph Kelly in Boston's Peter Brigham Hospital in 1954. After that, it took nearly 17 years for India to follow suit and conduct its first successful kidney transplant in 1971 at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Since then, the progress, both in terms of scientific studies and the number of transplant procedures conducted in the country, has been sluggish.

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