A PIG has saved the life of a 57-year-old Maryland man.
The man with incurable heart disease is doing well three days after receiving a genetically-modified pig heart in a first of its kind transplant surgery.
According to University of Maryland School of Medicine, David Bennett had terminal heart disease, and the pig heart was his only available option.
According to CNN, Bennett was unsuitable for a normal heart transplant or an artificial heart pump after a review of his medical records.
“It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s a gamble, but it’s my last resort,” Bennett said before his operation.
The US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorisation for surgery on 31 December.
Three genes causing rejection of pig organs by human immune systems were removed from the donor pig, with one taken out to stop excessive pig heart tissue growth.
Six human genes responsible for immune acceptance were also inserted.
Bennett’s doctors have to monitor him for up to several weeks to see if the transplant works and provide life-saving benefits. He’ll be checked for immune system problems and complications.
“There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients,” said surgeon Dr Bartley P Griffith. 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,”
