Medicine A medical breakthrough: the human heart was first implanted in the United States

Stateside has been transplanted to a human for the first time a pig’s heart. The patient is recovering from a historic operation performed on Friday at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore.

In the eight-hour operation, the animal’s heart began to beat in the man’s chest as expected, and the patient was already breathing on his own. For the time being, however, he is still stuck in a device that supports blood circulation.

“This is indeed a breakthrough and gives hope to patients who can be saved in the future, ”praises the transplant surgeon Robert Montgomery USA Today -in leaf.

The Montgomery group in New York did the groundwork that made the heart transplant possible.

In the fall, they managed to relocate on a trial basis genetically modified pig kidney for a brain-dead patient. The experiment showed that by modifying certain porcine genes, the patient’s body did not reject the graft.

Piggy the body is close enough to man to utilize its organs in man. Porcine tissues have already been used, for example, to correct valve defects in the human heart.

A heart taken from a genetically modified and purpose-bred one-year-old pig now beats a 57-year-old American man Dave Bennettin chest.

Ten genes had been engineered from it that would allow the heart to fit into the human body without a rejection reaction. The growth of the pig’s heart was also restricted to suit the human.

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“I know this is a desperate attempt, but this is my last chance.”

Experimental the operation was Bennett’s last straw, as he was not eligible for the transplant list because of his patient history. Without the transplant, Bennett would have died.

Surgeon Bartley Griffith suggested an exceptional measure for the patient.

“We can’t transfer a human heart to you, but we can try a pig’s heart. It has never been done before, ”says Griffith, who performed the surgery, about the patient’s encounter In the New York Times.

Patient Bennett was silent for a moment. He then asked:

“Well, Shall I then grumble?”

The family and doctors are watching Bennett’s recovery hopefully.

“Dad knew this was his last chance. He’s a fighter character, ”Bennett’s son David says USA Today.

“I want to live. I know this is a desperate attempt, but this is my last chance, ”Bennett said before the surgery.

Bennettin the new heart is taken from a genetically modified pig bred by Revivicor. Revivicor is a subsidiary of United Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that develops new therapies.

One-year-old pigs were specially bred and genetically engineered for transplantation experiments. First, three genes had been engineered from the pig, the normal function of which would prevent the organ from being suitable for humans. One of these genes produces a sugar molecule that is rejected by the human body. These genes were quenched from the pig.

Six human genes were then tailored to inherit the pig, which in turn promotes the adaptation of the pig’s heart to the human body.

Finally, a growth regulatory gene was quenched. The pig deliberately remained undersized compared to its normal companion. Thanks to genetic engineering, its heart growth also stopped.

In previous experiments on baboons, it has been the case that the pig’s heart has continued to grow in the baboon’s breast after transplantation, which is not good for quality.

“The last one over the past decade, we have progressed from one genetically engineered pig to two, five, and finally ten genes, ”says Revivicor’s chief scientific officer. David Ayares USA in Today.

For kidney transplants, modification of one gene may be sufficient. The company is also planning lung transplants. They can be more complex.

The patient was also given a new type of medicine that suppressed the immune system during the operation.

It has also been learned in transplants for baboons that the graft cannot be stored in ice alone, as is the case with human organs. Special nutrient and hormone treatment is needed for the pig’s heart to begin to function.

Tissue patient Bennett’s own heart began to travel in October. He had previously had a heart valve taken from pig tissue.

An attempt was made to save Bennett’s heart, but it was coming to an end. He was not eligible for the transplant list because he had previously not taken the medication prescribed for him and canceled his doctor’s appointments.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an exemption for the experimental measure within a short timeframe. The permit came on New Year’s Eve and an exceptional cut was started last Friday at 8:30 a.m. off the east coast of the United States.

“The anatomy was a little bubbly. We had to resort to clever plastic surgery to get the heart to fit, ”says Griffith, the surgeon who led the surgery. In the New York Times.

When the anti-circulatory clamps were removed, the pig’s heart began to throb.

“It started right away. The heart works and looks normal ”.

Yet it is too early to say whether the graft will work permanently. Such a genetically engineered transplant from animal to human has never been done before.

In the 1960s, an attempt was made to transplant chimpanzee kidneys in a few people. One of them lived 9 months after surgery.

Newborn in 1984 and severely damaged by heart Stephanie Beauclair got the baboon’s heart. However, the “Baby Fae” died 21 days after the transplant when the body rejected the heart.