BOSTON (WHDH) – New Hampshire native Tim Andrews was quite happy to spend his 67th birthday on Wednesday at Mass General Hospital (MGH).
On January 25, Andrews became the fourth patient in the world to receive a pig kidney and was the second pig kidney transplant recipient at MGH.
“I already told them I have two birthdays now,” said Andrews. “I expect January 25 to be my new birthday.”
“Am I brave? Well, some people might say a little crazy,” said Andrews. “Which is what brave people are.”
Andrews came to this point after suffering with end stage kidney failure and spending over two years on dialysis.
“Dialysis, it just beats you to death,” said Andrews. “I had a heart attack because that’s one of the things, it’s tough on the heart.”
Andrews says he read about the cutting edge surgery and he told his wife he wanted to give it a try.
“Well, I thought he was a little bit crazy,” said Karen Andrews, Tim’s wife. “I said you really want to put a pig kidney in you and he kinda won me over because I could see what dialysis was doing to him.”
MGH’s first pig kidney recipient, Rick Slayman of Weymouth, died two month after his transplant. Doctors say it was not from complications of the organ.
Andrews couldn’t be dissuaded.
“I didn’t do anything else but stand at the front door, knocking, saying ‘I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll do it!’ I know the risks. I read everything,” said Andrews.
Doctors say Andrews’ transplant was a success and he says he knew it the minute he opened his eyes.
“I was like a new person, I had energy. I hadn’t had energy in years,” said Andrews.
Andrews was discharged from the hospital five days after the operation.
Now, constant check-ups make sure the kidney is performing correctly.
“His kidney is working wonders – making urine, maintaining a balance of mineral water we need in his body so its everything we hoped for,” said Dr. Leonardo Riella of MGH, kidney transplantation.
Andrews knows people die everyday while on transplant waitlists for human organs. He says he’s grateful a pig kidney was an option for him.
“We can make plans to do things longer,” said Andrews. “I have to smell the roses because there’s not many people who get second chances.”
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