First pig heart transplant patient dies two months after surgery

The first patient in the world to have received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig has died two months following his operation, the hospital where he was treated announced on Wednesday, while stressing that the experience nevertheless represented a great progress for research.

David Bennett, 57, died Tuesday following his condition “began to deteriorate several days ago,” the University of Maryland Hospital said in a statement. “When it became clear that he would not recover, he was given palliative care. »

“The heart worked very well for several weeks”

The operation, carried out on January 7, had raised great hopes, because such xenografts – from an animal to a human – might potentially help to remedy the shortage of organ donations.

“The heart functioned very well for several weeks, with no signs of rejection,” the hospital said. After the operation, “the patient was able to spend time with his family and participate in physiotherapy activities to help him regain his strength”. He had even been able to watch the very popular final game of American football, the Super Bowl. The experiment can thus be considered a success, according to the researchers.

“We gained valuable information and learned that a genetically modified pig heart can function properly inside a human body when the immune system is properly controlled,” said Muhammad Mohiuddin, scientific director of the program. xenotransplants from this hospital. “We remain optimistic and plan to continue our work in future clinical trials. »

The pig from which the transplanted heart came had been genetically modified to avoid immediate rejection. A new experimental drug had also been used, in addition to the usual anti-rejection drugs, to suppress the immune system.

Pig heart valves are already widely used

The exact cause of death has not yet been identified, a hospital spokesperson said, adding that a detailed study of the case would later be published in a scientific journal. In a video, Muhammad Mohiuddin, however, mentioned that Mr. Bennett suffered frequent “infectious episodes” due to his weakened immune system. Without this transplant, David Bennett was doomed. “It was either death or this transplant. I want to live,” he said the day before the operation.

Nearly 110,000 Americans are currently on the waiting list for organ transplants and more than 6,000 people who need transplants die each year in the country. In 1984, a baboon’s heart was transplanted into a baby but the little one, nicknamed “Baby Fae”, only survived 20 days. Pig heart valves are already widely used in humans and their skin can be used for grafts in burn patients.

“We are devastated by the loss of Mr. Bennett,” surgeon Bartley Griffith, who performed the transplant, said Wednesday. “He has shown himself to be a courageous patient”, now known to “millions of people around the world”.