The 57-year-old heart patient had a pig heart transplanted as a last resort at a Maryland hospital.
The patient, David Bennett, said of the first surgery, “I was going to die or have this surgery.” he said.
Bennet’s condition began to deteriorate a few days ago and he was pronounced dead on 8 March.
His doctors state that David Bennett was able to spend time with his family after the surgery, and even watched the American Football League final.
Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who performed the surgery, said of his patient, “He fought to the end as a brave and respected patient.”
Bennet’s son also said he wished “the beginning of hope” for the first-of-its-kind surgery.
The pig had been genetically modified so that the heart could function in the human body without rejection.
It is hoped that this use of genetically modified animals will help overcome the shortage of organs in transplants.
A HISTORICAL STAGE HAS BEEN PASSED
In the experiment, the kidney of a pig was implanted in the body of a brain-dead human, and it was explained that the kidney began to work in the body.
BBC health correspondent James Gallagher states that the biggest obstacle to transplanting a different type of organ is “hyper-acute rejection”. In this case, the body perceives the transplanted tissue as so foreign that it takes action to kill it within minutes.
With 10 different changes made, it was hoped that the pig heart would be accepted by the human body. There was no “hyper-acute rejection” after the transplant and a historic stage was passed.
Gallagher stated that the surgeons he spoke to a month after the operation said that the body still did not give a rejection sign. However, Bennet passed away from an as yet unexplained cause.
Every day in the USA, 17 patients waiting for an organ transplant die.
According to OrganDonor.gov, more than 100,000 people in the country are waiting for an organ transplant.
In September, researchers in New York conducted an experiment claiming that pigs could show promise for animal-to-human transplants.