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A 62-year-old man is heading home to recover from a revolutionary medical procedure. Rick Slayman left Massachusetts General Hospital on April 3 after participating in the first successful transplant of a genetically edited pig kidney into a human being.

The four-hour procedure was performed on March 16 at the Massachusetts General Hospital Transplant Center. A statement from the hospital confirmed that Slayman is “recovering well and will continue to recuperate at home with his family.”

Slayman underwent a kidney transplant from a human donor in 2018 after living for years with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. However, the kidney showed signs of failure in 2023, and he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. According to the hospital, the pig kidney used in the transplant was genetically modified “to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans.”

Mass General Brigham has been an innovator in organ transplants for decades, including performing the world’s first successful human organ transplant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1954.

“Nearly seven decades after the first successful kidney transplant, our clinicians have once again demonstrated our commitment to provide innovative treatments and help ease the burden of disease for our patients and others around the world,” said Dr. Anne Klibanski, President and CEO of Mass General Brigham.

In a statement, Slayman thanked the doctors and staff at Mass Gen who cared for him throughout the process, adding that the transplant was a way to help himself and inspire hope in others who need organ transplants.

“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. “Now, it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.”