Transplant: the very first transplant patient with a pig’s heart has died

Two months after his operation, the very first transplant patient with a genetically modified pig’s heart died. The University of Maryland Hospital, where the 57-year-old patient was being cared for, announced his death on Wednesday March 9.

According to information given by the BBC, his state of health had been deteriorating for several days and palliative care was being given to him. “He turned out to be a brave and noble patient who fought until the end”said the surgeon behind this transplant Bartley Griffin, in a press release issued by the hospital.

“His Last Hope”

For this patient in the terminal phase of heart disease and deemed ineligible for human transplantation, the operation performed on January 7 was his last hope. “It was either death or this transplant. I want to live”he confided the day before the operation.

For seven days after the operation, the aftermath of the operation had raised a wave of hope. “The heart functioned very well for several weeks, without any signs of rejection”, the hospital said in a statement. Following the operation, “the patient was able to spend time with his family and participate in physiotherapy activities to help him regain his strength”. But soon his condition worsened.

A major medical advance

The operation was a medical and symbolic feat for the many patients ineligible for traditional transplants. Despite the fact that the heart did not hold, the medical team considers the experience of this xenograft as a success. “We have obtained valuable information and learned that a genetically modified pig’s heart can function properly inside a human body”announced in a press release Muhammad Mohiuddin, scientific director of the xenotransplantation program of this hospital. “We remain optimistic and plan to continue our work in future clinical trials.”