This Alabama woman has become the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant; she achieved this by crossing that incredible two-month line. This is truly one of the biggest medical breakthroughs because it is a great milestone in medical science, not only to the woman but for everyone. Thriving with a genetically modified pig organ inside her, the lady beats expectations. She describes herself as “superwoman,” and the doctors and experts keep on being surprised by her, thus giving hope for the future of organ transplantation. Her case has captivated the world and marked a new era in medicine, with all the excitement regarding the possibilities of life-saving innovations.

Alabama woman reaches milestone of two months and becomes the longest living recipient of pig organ transplant

In what has been an unprecedented medical milestone, Alabama’s Towana Looney is now the longest survivor of a pig organ transplant. Tuesday marked her astonishing 61 days of living with the genetically modified pig kidney inside her. For more than two decades, Towana Looney has been on dialysis. Her unexpected turn came to happen when she became the fifth person in the United States to receive the life-saving organ.
Looney laughs as she mentions passing her family in long walks while in New York City, describes herself as a “superwoman” since she is basking in her effervescent recovery. “Her kidney function is absolutely normal,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led the transplant. Doctors hope Looney’s new kidney will function for years, bringing a fresh breath of hope for those waiting in lines for organ transplants.
The xenotransplantation has brought a beacon of hope in this country as most people have looked up to her for guidance regarding the potential treatment. Her remarkable recovery serves to be an exemplary inspiration for several other people and even for Looney herself.

Why scientists are turning to pig organs for life-saving transplants

Alabama woman Towana Looney has set a record for the longest survival of a pig organ transplant, living with her new kidney for more than two months. Looney, who had suffered for years with failing kidneys, is the fifth person in the U.S. to receive a gene-edited pig organ, providing new hope for patients desperate for transplants. Her kidney function is “absolutely normal,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the transplant at NYU Langone Health.
Scientists have increasingly been looking towards genetically modified pigs in tackling the critical shortage of human organs to be used as a means of transplantation. Already, over 100,000 people in the United States remain on lists awaiting a matching organ, and most of them die before it is too late. Pigs are genetically modified so that their organs can better match human biology. This should improve their chances for transplantation, making it a revolutionary discovery in transplant medicine since it would be considered a ‘renewable source’ for organs.
Looney’s success gives the whole field of xenotransplantation, that is, transplanting animal organs to save human lives, a boost in morale. Researchers learn from Looney’s case in designing future studies, and the success of Looney is allowing scientists to get ready for formal trials of pig organ transplants, which should soon start.
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If one thing proved true in No. 4 Alabama basketball’s 80-73 win over LSU, it’s that on any given night in the SEC, anything can happen.

Arriving at Coleman Coliseum with just one SEC win, LSU put up a scrappy and physical fight against the Crimson Tide. The Tigers went into halftime tied at 40-40 and even held small leads throughout the game.

Despite struggles from starting point guard Mark Sears and issues on the offensive glass early on, Alabama managed to pull away in the second half, avoiding a second conference loss and pleasing a nearly fully packed crowd.

Before we move on to Wednesday night’s matchup between Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi State, here are five key numbers that defined the Tide’s win over the Tigers.

7 — Clifford Omoruyi bounced back in the second half, snagging seven rebounds after a quiet first half with just two. LSU dominated the glass in the opening 20 minutes, but Omoruyi’s effort in the second half helped shift the momentum for Alabama. He finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Coach Nate Oats praised his performance, noting that it earned Omoruyi the Hard Hat Award.

“ Cliff, I didn’t think he was bringing it,” Oats said. “…Cliff was not rebounding like he needed to, wasn’t playing as hard as we’d have liked. And it ends up going out and playing extremely hard in the second half, had a great attitude on the bench and ends up winning hard hat.”

The Rutgers transfer has turned it up a notch since the beginning of conference play. He ranks in the top 13 in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage among SEC players, according to KenPom.com.

13 — One of the key reasons LSU managed to stay within striking distance for most of its trip to Coleman Coliseum was its tenacious effort on the offensive glass in the first half. The Tigers dominated Alabama 13-5 in offensive rebounds during the opening 20 minutes, largely thanks to four-star freshman Corey Chest’s absurd nine offensive boards in the first period alone.

After the game, Oats said rebounds will be a significant point of emphasis for his group going forward.

“ I got to give a ton of credit to LSU,” Oats said. “Corey Chest with 15 rebounds in the first half…,” Oats said. “That was, that was a major issue. All the offensive boards they had. They ended up outscoring us on second-chance points only by three, but we gave up way too many boards… It’s the fourth time this season we got out-rebounded. So that’s something we’re gonna have to really address going into Mississippi State.”

3 — LSU struggled from beyond the arc, making just three of 23 attempts from deep, which was a season-low. The Tigers’ measly three makes marks the second-lowest number of 3-pointers against Alabama this season. After the game, LSU head coach Matt McMahon said LSU’s inefficient shooting cost the Tigers down the stretch.

“We just weren’t able to make enough shots to give us a better chance there late,” McMahon said. “Credit to Alabama’s defense, credit to Alabama for the win.”

17 — Alabama star point guard Mark Sears played a season-low 17 minutes, all of which came in the first half, the fewest minutes he’s logged in a game since his freshman season at Ohio. Sears also posted the second-lowest offensive rating of his career on KenPom, finishing with a 28, ahead of the 21 he recorded earlier this season against Illinois.

After Sears had a rough first half, Oats mentioned that the coaching staff is implementing a philosophical shift moving forward.

“ We’re done starting the same group that starts the game, we’re gonna start the guys that we think give us the best chance to get a great start in the second half,” Oats said.

Fortunately for Oats, Alabama’s various backcourt options allow them to play a multitude of lineups depending on who’s hot.

9 — USF transfer Chris Youngblood, who made his first career start vs LSU, contributed to all nine of Alabama’s opening points. The Tuscaloosa native opened the game with seven and assisted Clifford Omoruyi on an alley-oop.

While not being upset about coming off the bench to begin the season, Youngblood said he was happy to finally get a start.

“It felt good,” Youngblood said. “It’s funny because at first, my family thought I’d mad about not starting, but I’m like, man, this team is wonderful, so I embraced this coming off the bench role… It was fun, man. It was fun.”

Troy carried over a dominant second half vs. South Alabama last weekend into a strong 40-minute effort on Saturday, beating the Jaguars 65-55 at Trojan Arena.

The Trojans (12-7, 5-3 Sun Belt Conference) won at home vs. their in-state rival for the fourth straight year, and temporarily knocked the Jaguars (14-6, 6-2) out of first place in the conference. Arkansas State (16-5, 7-2) is a half-game ahead of South Alabama in the overall standings, with the Jaguars facing a weather-related makeup game at Louisiana-Monroe on Monday.

Troy led nearly throughout on Saturday, overcoming an early 3-2 deficit with a 15-0 run behind some hot 3-point shooting. The Trojans hit eight from beyond the arc in the first half and 12 in the game, and pulled down an astounding 20 offensive rebounds.

“They punked us, man,” South Alabama coach Richie Riley said in his postgame comments on SportsTalk 99.5 FM. “They pushed us around on the glass. They pushed us around on the perimeter. I mean, it was hand-to-hand combat for 40 minutes.

“And we’ve got to respond better to that, because it won’t be the last time we see it. I mean, anytime you play these dudes, that’s what it’s going to be.”

South Alabama cut the deficit to six at halftime and to four at 50-46 in the final six minutes, but Troy had an answer each time. Myles Rigsby made a massive 3-pointer after an offensive rebound with 5:20 to play, then Tayton Conerway hit another with 1:19 left to put the Trojans up 10 and essentially ice the game.

It was a continuation for Troy of the second half from last week’s meeting vs. South Alabama in Mobile, in which the Trojans trailed by 20 at halftime before storming back to take the lead in the final minute. South Alabama’s Barry Dunning made two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Jaguars a 65-64 win in that one.

Rigsby — back in the starting lineup Saturday for the first time in two weeks after missing time following an elbow to the head vs. Texas State on Jan. 11 — led the Trojans with 15 points, while Cooper Campbell had 12 (all on 3-pointers) and Jackson Fields added 10 rebounds (5 offensive). Conerway shot just 4-for-17 from the floor, but posted a solid all-around effort with 10 points, nine assists and five steals.

Jayden Cooper led South Alabama with a season-high 17 points off the bench, but was the lone Jaguars player in double-figures. Dunning added nine points and nine rebounds, but South Alabama shot just 27% (6-for-22) on 3-pointers.

“It’s so stressful out there, but also I know things don’t happen if your guys don’t play extremely hard,” Troy coach Scott Cross told the Troy Radio Network. “That’s what I told them before the game, ‘wars are won by the will of men,’ not by weapons or scouting reports or plays or zones or any of that.

“Our guys had that look in their eyes tonight. There were a couple times where the game got a little bit close, but overall, our guys really were locked-in defensively. I mean, what a game defensively. We were able to get 13 more shot attempts, and I think that was the difference in the game.”

Troy attempted 40 3-pointers, but made enough to keep South Alabama at bay. The Trojans out-rebounded the Jaguars 41-35 overall, and made 7 of 10 free throws.

South Alabama was 9-for-15 from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over 15 times. That’s uncharacteristic of a Jaguars team that has been among the best in the country at taking care of the ball, but also speaks to Troy’s physical style both in the second half last Saturday in Mobile and for the entire game on Saturday.

“We got physically manhandled,” Riley said. “I mean, they fouled us every possession. And we’ve got to be tougher than that. Sixty minutes straight of that. And we knew it was coming. We knew those were not going to be called fouls.

“… But it’s not on the refs, it’s on us. We knew what the game was going to be. They let them foul like crazy, and that’s what they do for 40 minutes. And we knew that coming in. We prepared for it. And we didn’t handle it well.”

South Alabama travels to ULM at 6:30 p.m. Monday in game that was originally scheduled for Thursday, but postponed due to dangerous road conditions caused by winter storm Enzo. Troy hosts Southern Miss at 5 p.m. Monday in a game that was also snowed out on Thursday.