David Bennett became the first person to have a heart transplanted successfully into him from a pig. In press material issued three days after the operation, the University of Maryland confirmed Mr Bennett was doing well, and was capable of breathing on his own. While he continues to rely on artificial support to pump blood around his body, the team behind the surgery, led by Bartley Griffith, plan gradually to reduce its use.
This operation is a milestone for xenotransplantation — the transfer of organs from other species to human patients. Doctors say the next few weeks will be a critical to see how Bennett does with the new organ and whether his body begins to reject it.
The operation itself received exceptional authorization from America's Food and Drug Administration under a provision which lets doctors use experimental treatments as a matter of last resort. Prior to the operation, Mr. Bennett was diagnosed with terminal heart disease, but was judged too ill to qualify for a human transplant. Having spent months in a hospital bed with no improvement to his condition, he gave his agreement to the surgery.
Bennett released a statement through the medical center the day before the operation. In it, he said: "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."
Past attempts at pig-to-human transplants have failed because of genetic differences that caused organ rejection. To reduce the risk of that happening in this case, scientists removed several genes from the donor pig that are linked with organ rejection. They also removed another gene from the animal in an effort to prevent too much growth of pig heart tissue.
Bennett's genetically modified pig heart was provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia. On the morning of the surgery, the transplant team removed the pig's heart and placed it into a special device to keep it running until the operation.
