Man who received first pig heart transplant dies

(CNN) — A 57-year-old man from Maryland Who received the first transgenic pig heart transplant He died in an innovative surgery, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) reported Wednesday.

David Bennett died Tuesday after his condition began deteriorating several days ago, according to the medical center. The Muhammadiyah Medical University statement said that he was able to communicate with his family during his last hours.

“We are devastated by the loss of Mr. Bennett. He has proven to be a brave and noble patient who fought to the end. “We express our deepest condolences to his family,” said Dr. Bartley B. Griffiths, the surgeon who transplanted Bennett’s pig heart. “Mr. Bennett was known by millions of people in all over the world for his courage and unwavering will to live.”

Bennett suffered from chronic heart disease He received the transplant on March 7.. He was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant or an artificial heart after a review of his medical records. The medical center said at the time of the surgery that making a genetically modified pig’s heart was the only option available.

The pig’s heart has been modified for transplantation

Revivicor, the Virginia-based regenerative medicine company, provided the heart. Three genes responsible for the human immune system rejecting pig organs were removed from the donor animal, and one gene was removed to prevent overgrowth of pig heart tissue. Six human genes responsible for immune acceptance have been inserted.

The medical center said the transplanted heart has been working fine for several weeks, with no signs of rejection.

Bennett “was able to spend time with his family and participate in physical therapy to help him regain his strength. He watched the Super Bowl with his physical therapist and talked a lot about wanting to come home with his dog Lucky,” a university press release said.

Before the transplant on January 7, Bennett said he knew it was a “bullet in the air.” “Either you die or I have this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s a shot in the air, but it’s my last option,” Bennett said in a previous statement from the medical center.

The United States suffers from a shortage of organs needed for organ transplantation. There are currently more than 106,000 people on the National Transplant List and 17 people die every day while waiting to get an organ, according to organdonor.gov.

Pig heart valves have been implanted in humans for many years. In October, surgeons successfully attempted to transplant a A genetically modified pig kidney in a woman in New York He was brain dead.

More than 40,000 transplants, a record, were performed in 2021, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network.