The first patient to ever receive an organ transplant from a genetically modified pig has been discharged from the hospital, as doctors say he is 'recovering well'.

Richard Slayman, 62, of Boston, was living with end-stage kidney disease when he received a kidney from the pig in what experts have said will herald a new epoch in organ transplantation.

Two previous heart transplants from pigs failed, yet Mr Slayman is returning home just two weeks after his groundbreaking procedure with, 'one of the cleanest bills of health I've had in a long time'.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said the new kidney is performing all of its crucial functions: producing urine, removing waste products from the blood, and balancing the body's fluids.

There are more than 100,000 patients on the waiting list for a new kidney in the US, with most facing delays of at least three years.

Mr Slayman said: '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.

'Now, it's a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.'

He said his care was 'exceptional' and thanked his medical team. 

The 'milestone' four-hour procedure took place on March 16.

Doctors at Mass Gen had genetically altered a pig using 69 DNA modifications to prepare for transplantation. 

Those modifications would protect against a virus that infects pigs as well as delete pig genes and add human genes to make the organ compatible with humans.