Time Plus News

Breaking News, Latest News, World News, Headlines and Videos

Man receives first successful transplant of pig heart into human body

In a first-of-its kind operation, surgeons successfully implanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a human patient, saving his life after he’d previously been deemed ineligible for a traditional heart transplant.

David Bennett Sr., of Maryland, was safely in recovery from the procedure on Monday, where his doctors from the University of Maryland Medical center have been monitoring his condition.

“It creates the pulse, it creates the pressure, it is his heart,” Dr. Bartley Griffith, the director of the cardiac transplant program at the medical center, told The New York Times. “It’s working and it looks normal. We are thrilled, but we don’t know what tomorrow will bring us. This has never been done before.”

The procedure marks the first time a genetically modified animal heart has been transplanted into a human body without immediate rejection, according to UMD.

“It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice,” Mr Bennett said of the procedure in a statement. “I look forward to getting out of bed after I recover.”

The 57-year-old had been in hospital for weeks with a life-threatening heart arrhythmia and only a heart-lung bypass machine was keeping him alive before the procedure.

The surgery, conducted on New Year’s Eve with emergency authorisation from the Food and Drug Administration, could open the door for greater organ access, according to the doctor who performed it.

“This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients,” said Dr Bartley P Griffith in a statement.

Roughly 110,00 people are waiting for organ transplants in the US, and more than 6,000 die each year before they can be matched with an organ donor and brought in for surgery.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with additional information.

Source link