A 57-year-old American with end-stage heart disease has received a transplant of a genetically modified pig heart, the first time this type of surgery has been performed. According to a statement released on Monday (10) by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the procedure was performed three days ago and the patient is doing well.
According to the institution, this was the only option available to the patient, who had been deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the regulatory agency for health products and services in the United States, granted an emergency authorization for the surgery.
“It was either die or have this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s my last option,” said patient David Bennett on the eve of surgery.
“This was a groundbreaking surgery and takes us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There simply aren’t enough human donor hearts to fill the long list of potential recipients,” said surgeon Bartley P. Griffith, who performed the transplant.
The college noted in the statement that Bennett is being “carefully” monitored to ensure there are no complications from the procedure.
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