Patient Who Received World's First Pig Heart Transplant Has Passed Away

The person who received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig died two months after the surgery.

The procedure raised hopes that cross-species organ donation could one day solve the chronic shortage of human organs available for donation, and the team behind the operation say they are optimistic about its future success.

The University of Maryland Medical System said in a statement that David Bennett passed away on March 8 after receiving a transplant on January 7.

There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death, a hospital spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

The director of the university's cardiac xenotransplantation program said in a video statement that Bennett was having infectious episodes.

He said that they were having difficulty maintaining a balance between the two.

Bennett began to get worse several days ago. He was given compassionate care after it became clear he wouldn't recover. He was able to communicate with his family during his final hours.

The hospital said that the transplant heart performed well for several weeks without any signs of rejection.

Bennett was able to spend time with his family, participate in physical therapy, watch the Super Bowl, and talk about wanting to go home to see his dog Lucky.

He was a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end. The surgeon who led the procedure extended his sympathies to the family.

Bennett came to the hospital in Maryland in October of 2021.

He was placed on a life support machine. He was ineligible for a human transplant because he had poor underlying health.

The team had gained valuable insights from the experience, and they remain optimistic and plan on continuing their work in future clinical trials.

Bennett was found guilty of stabbing a man several times in 1988 and left him paralyzed and bound before he died.

Medical ethicists do not believe that a person's past criminal history should affect their future treatment.

More than 6,000 patients die each year before getting an organ transplant in the US, according to official figures.

Doctors have been interested in cross-species organ donation since the 17th century.

In 1984 a baby girl known as "Baby Fae" survived only 20 days after a baboon heart was donated, but early research focused on harvesting organs from primates.

The attention has turned to pigs recently. Pig heart valves are used in humans, and pig skin is used for burn victims.

The organ size of pigs is similar to that of humans and they have large litters. They are already raised as a food source so there is less controversy surrounding their organs.

Bennett's pig was part of a herd that had undergone genetic editing.

Three genes that would have led to rejection of pig organs by humans were knocked out, as was a gene that would have led to excessive growth of pig heart tissue.

A total of 10 unique gene edits were inserted into the genome of six human genes.

Revivicor supplied the animals used in three recent pig-to-human organ transplants.

The surgery on Bennett was the first to help a patient who had died after the procedure.

Agence France-Presse