A remarkable surgeon successfully transplants a pig’s heart into a human for the first time.
A group of American surgeons led by Dr. Bartley Griffith have successfully replaced a 57-year-old patient’s heart with a genetically altered pig’s heart for the first time in human history.
The landmark surgery was performed on Friday at the University of Maryland Medical School in the United States. The genetically modified pig transplant was successful after an eight-hour procedure for David Bennett Sr. of Maryland, who had life-threatening cardiac illness.
This is the first time a pig’s heart has been successfully transplanted into a person. Dr. Bartley Griffith, the medical center’s cardiac transplant program head, who carried out the procedure, stated, “It creates the pulse, it creates the pressure, it is his heart.”
Ineligibility for a human transplant was determined for the patient, David Bennett; this choice is frequently made when the recipient has really poor underlying health.
He is currently recuperating and under close observation to assess the effectiveness of the replacement organ.
“I had to choose between dying or getting this transplant. I’d like to survive. A day prior to the procedure, the Maryland resident stated, “I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice.”
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After graduating from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in 1974, Dr. Bartley Griffith, a professor of surgery, has been practicing cardiothoracic surgery for more than 47 years.
It’s functioning and appears to be normal,” he remarked. Although we are excited, we have no idea what the future holds. No one has ever done this before.
Bartley Griffith, who performed the surgical transplant of the pig heart, declared, “This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis.”
He clarified, “We are moving cautiously, but we are also hopeful that this first-in-the-world surgery will give patients a significant new option in the future.”
The herd from which Bennett’s donor pig came has undergone genetic modification.
Three genes that would have caused humans to reject pig organs were “knocked out,” along with one that would have caused pig heart tissue to expand excessively.
Ten distinct gene changes were made to the genome, including the insertion of six human genes that are responsible for human acceptance.
The biotech company Revivicor, located in Virginia, carried out the editing and provided the pig used in a groundbreaking kidney transplant on a brain-dead patient in New York in October.
However, the current procedure aims to save a life, whereas the previous procedure was only a proof-of-concept experiment and involved connecting the kidney outside the patient’s body.
In addition to using traditional anti-rejection medications and an investigational novel medicine from Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals to suppress the immune system, the researchers stored the donated organ in an organ-preservation machine prior to the procedure.
According to official statistics, about 6,000 individuals pass away before receiving an organ transplant each year, and there are presently about 110,000 Americans on the waiting list.
With research dating back to the 17th century, doctors have long been interested in xenotransplantation, or the transfer of organs from another species, in order to meet demand.
Early studies concentrated on removing organs from primates; for instance, in 1984, a newborn named “Baby Fae” had a transplant of a baboon heart, although she lived for just 20 days.
Nowadays, pigskin is grafted onto burn victims, and pig heart valves are frequently employed in humans.
The size, quick growth, big litters, plus the fact that they are already raised for food make pigs the perfect donors.
