The New York Times reports that a man who had his heart replaced with a genetically altered one may have died from pigs.
It is an unfortunate situation, showing the complex and little-understood risks involved in animal transplant organs into the human body.
The cause of the patient's death in March is unclear, but it may have been caused by the virus, according to a transplant surgeon at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
According to the NYT, surgeons initially screened the pig heart for the CMV, but the tests aren't able to pick up on active infections.
The scientists were happy with how long his body went without rejecting the pig heart.
After a test found low levels of porcine CMV, Bennet's condition deteriorated quickly, with subsequent tests showing spiking levels of the virus.
He looked really funky at Day 45. He looked sick. He lost his focus. He wouldn't talk to us. He was breathing hard and was warm.
It could have been the actor that set this all off, according to Griffin.
The fact that a lot of work still has to be done before we can start harvesting organs from animals is indicative of the inherent risks of such a procedure.
There are signs of an animal virus in a man who received a pig.
The man who received an experimental pig heart transplant died.
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