Doctors at a hospital in Maryland, USA, have successfully performed the first pig heart transplant on a human.
On January 7, doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center used a heart from a genetically modified pig to reduce the likelihood of rejection in the human body. The 7-hour surgery was conducted by Dr. Bartley Griffith at the Baltimore, Maryland hospital.
The hospital reported that the patient is currently in good health; however, it is still too early to determine whether the surgery is truly effective.
Doctors at a hospital in Maryland have successfully performed the first pig heart transplant on a human. (Photo: AP)
The heart transplant recipient is David Bennett, a 57-year-old man suffering from heart failure and an irregular heartbeat. He agreed to participate in the pig heart transplant trial because he was not eligible for a human heart transplant or a heart pump.
As of January 10, Bennett was able to breathe independently, although he still requires supportive devices. The coming weeks will be a critical period in his recovery process.
Before performing the surgery on Bennett, Dr. Griffith had transplanted pig hearts into about 50 rhesus monkeys over the past five years.
Currently, hospitals around the world are facing a shortage of organ donors for transplants. Therefore, scientists and technology companies are striving to find ways to use animal organs as substitutes for human parts.
The heart used in the historic surgery on January 7 was provided by Revivicor, a subsidiary of the biotechnology company United Therapeutics.
Dr. David Klassen, the chief medical officer of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), stated that the surgery in Maryland is the first step in assessing whether this transplant method is effective.
