Julien Vattaire –
A world first that could be a milestone. In the United States, a patient received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig. David Bennett, 57 and declared ineligible to receive a human transplant, underwent the operation, which is a xenograft, last Friday. Previously, the US Medicines Agency (FDA) gave the go-ahead for the operation on New Year’s Eve.
This is a major surgical advance and one that brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage.
“It was either death or this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s quite risky, but it was my last option”, the Maryland resident said a day before his surgery, according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which released the information on Monday. “I can’t wait to get out of bed once I recover”, continued David Bennett, who has spent the last few months bedridden and hooked up to a machine that kept him alive.
“This is a major surgical advance and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage.”, commented Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who performed the transplant. “We are proceeding with caution but are also optimistic that this world first will provide an essential new option to patients in the future.”, added the doctor.