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Pisano received the heart pump on April 4, and eight days later, got the pig's kidney. She lived with it for 47 days, as reported by the New York Times, before her death on Sunday, July 7.
A U.S. Navy veteran and doting grandmother, Pisano was born in Lakewood but lived in Ocean Gate and Bayville, according to her obituary on the Mastapeter Memorial Home website.
Her obituary remembered her as a "hero to the medical community, inspiring others with her determination to survive and push the boundaries of treatment." While she died of health issues, Pisano "will leave behind a legacy of determination and hope," her obituary says.
Pisano had been suffering from both heart and end-stage kidney disease when she became the first-ever patient to undergo the combination transplant surgery at NYU Langone Health.
Pisano's love of her grandchildren gave her joie de vivre, she said around the time of the procedure, which had given her hope for another lease on life.
“All I want is the opportunity to have a better life,” she said. “After I was ruled out for a human transplant, I learned I didn’t have a lot of time left. My doctors thought there may be a chance I could be approved to receive a gene-edited pig kidney, so I discussed it with my family and my husband. He has been by my side throughout this ordeal and wants me to be better.”
Despite the litany of health struggles that she fought through, Pisano "enjoyed going to the boardwalk, cooking, watching wrestling and cooking shows, couponing and shopping with her daughter, spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren," her obituary continues. "Her grandchildren were the light of her life."
Pisano is survived by her husband Todd Pisano; daughter Brittany Rydel and her husband Philip; her stepsons Robert Pisano, Sean Pisano, and Blaine Pisano; her brother Michael VanPel; her grandchildren Olivia and Nathan Rydel; and her cousins Sherry Abrams, Clayton Creamer, Dwayne Creamer, and Steven Hawk.
Click here for Lisa Pisano's complete obituary and here for her transplant story.
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