A patient with life-threatening heart disease received a heart from a genetically modified pig, in a medical first that has the potential to provide hope to hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide.
Surgeons performing the operation at University of Maryland Medical Center. Photo: Tom Jemski
For the first time, a patient with life-threatening heart disease received a heart from a genetically modified pig, theThe patient, 57-year-old David Bennett, is still doing well three days later, proving for the first time a "genetically-modified animal heart can function like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body," UMMC said.
This type of transplant, known as xenotransplantation, was pioneered at Maryland by Dr. Muhammad M. Mohiuddin.Bennett, the patient, had been deemed ineligible for a standard heart transplant. “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,” Bennett said, per UMMC.
The FDA granted emergency authorization for the surgery on New Year's Eve for this operation, in the hopes that it would save Bennett,“We are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this first-in-the-world surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future," said Dr. Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who performed the operation.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ VFX Team Brought Back Villains From the MultiverseBringing back characters like Doc Ock and Sandman in SpiderManNoWayHome involved lots of CG and de-aging work
Read more »
Risk of Death For Female Patients Is Much Higher if Surgeon Is a Man, Study RevealsFor female patients, operation outcomes tend to be significantly better when their surgeon is also female, recent research out of Canada has found.
Read more »
Spider-Man: No Way Home: Only These Movies are Ahead in Box Office RecordsSpider-Man: No Way Home is cruising to another major weekend at the box office and is on its way [...]
Read more »
Criminal charges dropped against LA County man with autism shot and left paralyzed by deputiesCriminal charges filed against Isaias Cervantes, a man with autism who was shot and left paralyzed by L.A. County deputies during a call in March 2021, have been dropped.
Read more »
Meet Japan's very busy 'Do Nothing Rent-a-Man'People always told Shoji Morimoto he was a slacker, so he dedicated himself fully to the pursuit of doing nothing, with others, as required.
Read more »