Michael Le Page is a person.
The University of Maryland used a pig as an organ donor.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The first person to receive a heart transplant from an animal may have died because of a pig virus.
David Bennett died two months after his transplant. Bennett, who was too sick to receive a human heart, received a pig heart on a compassionate basis. Four pig genes were deleted and six human genes were added to prevent the pig's organ from being rejected.
Bennett's doctors attempted to treat a pig cytomegaloviruses in the weeks before his death, but they were unsuccessful.
He told MIT Technology Review that he was beginning to learn why he passed on.
According to MIT Technology Review, the pig heart may have failed because of the viral infection, rather than the immune system rejecting the organ.
The herpesviruses cause cold and sores. The viral DNA remains inside some cells after an animal is bitten. If an animal is weakened, the virus can reactivate and cause more infections.
Bennett wouldn't have had immunity to the porcine cytomegaloviruses, which would have allowed them to re-invade the heart. The Free University of Berlin's Denner says that the virus doesn't affect human cells. Bennett's immune system may have been prevented from responding fully because he was on immunosuppressing drugs.
Blood was taken 20 days after Bennett's transplant to detect the virus. Bennett seemed to be recovering after the team tried various treatments, but his condition deteriorated quickly. Bennett's immune system may have triggered an inflammatory response known as a cytokine storm, damaging the heart.
In 2020, Denner and his colleagues found out that pig heart transplants do not prolong the lives of baboons. Denner says that nobody can say for certain what caused Bennett's death.
Special clean facilities are used to raise pigs that are free from diseases. Denner says that the tests may not have been sensitive enough. In 2016 his lab was able to detect the porcine cytomegaloviruses in pigs raised for research. The tests came back positive even if the samples were negative.
The tests mentioned in the article were not available to the surgeon-scientists at the time of the transplant.
It can be done in two ways, one of which is detecting infections where the viral DNA is sitting in a few cells. The first thing to look for is the viral DNA. The second thing to look for is the immune system. Both methods are used in Denner's lab. Bennett's transplant tests were not known.
The pig used for the transplant was screened multiple times. It was tested before it was shipped to Maryland and before the transplant a few days later. The FDA accepted the testing protocols. As plans move forward for future clinical trials, more sophisticated testing techniques are being developed to ensure that the virus does not go undetected.
The results of Denner's baboon study suggest that other transplant recipients may live longer if given virus-free hearts. Denner says that pigs can be free of the disease after 24 hours.
The pig behind Bennett's transplant was developed by Revivicor, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the companies. New Scientist requested comment from both firms before publication.
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