Advancing Hope Through Science: The Inaugural Richard Slayman International Workshop on Xenotransplantation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The inaugural Richard Slayman Clinical Xenotransplantation Workshop convened >140 participants from North America, Europe, and Asia to discuss emerging advances and challenges in translating xenotransplantation from bench to bedside. This report summarized key discussions spanning kidney, heart, and liver xenotransplantation, with an emphasis on clinical readiness and future directions. Core themes included the importance of patient selection, the role of genetic editing to reduce immune incompatibility, adaptive immunosuppressive strategies, novel molecular tools for immune and infectious surveillance, and the growing recognition of innate immune activation as a barrier to long-term graft survival. The workshop highlighted decedent models as a translational bridge, the use of machine perfusion in liver xenograft applications, and progress in living recipients. Notably, 1 patient achieved 9 mo of kidney xenograft function, underscoring the feasibility of extended survival in carefully selected candidates. Perspectives from patients and families, including a reflection honoring Richard Slayman, the first living recipient of a genetically edited pig kidney, framed the scientific dialogue within the broader human impact of this emerging field. The workshop marked a pivotal moment in aligning scientific, ethical, and regulatory efforts to advance safe and equitable access to xenotransplantation.
Source: Transplantation
Authors: Leonardo V. Riella, Joren C. Madsen, Richard N. Pierson, Thiago J. Borges, David Sachs, David Cooper, Andrew Adams, Kazuhiko Yamada, Megan Sykes, Greg Nowak, Brendan J. Keating, Vasishta Tatapudi, Vineeta Kumar, Christian P. Larsen, Nahel Elias, A. Benedict Cosimi, Shoko Kimura, Alexander Sagar, Mike Curtis, Pablo Legorreta, Erik Berglund, David Ayares, Macey L. Levan, Winfred Williams, Keren Ladin, Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, Bruno Reichart, Nader Moazami, David Cleveland, Bartley Griffith, Stuart Sweet, Alessia Giarraputo, Claire Avillach, Ivy Rosales, Joe Tector, Alex Loupy, Robert A. Montgomery, Robert B. Colvin, Jay A. Fishman, Tatsuo Kawai
Institutions: Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Columbia University, NYU Langone Health, New York University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, UAB Medicine, Emory University, University of Oxford, Royalty Pharma (United States), Karolinska Institutet, Tufts University, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, University of Miami, Miami Transplant Institute, Inserm, Université Paris Cité, Paris Cardiovascular Research Center
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7129262842