The second patient in the world to receive a genetically modified pig heart transplant died six weeks after the operation, and a year and a half after the death of the first patient, announced the US medical center that performed the procedure.
Lawrence Faucette, 58, was deemed unfit for a human heart transplant due to advanced heart disease, which made a pig heart transplant his “only option,” according to a statement from the University of Maryland in the United States. , published this Tuesday (31).
“We mourn the loss of Faucette, an extraordinary patient, scientist, Navy veteran and family man who simply wanted to spend a little more time with his wife, children and relatives,” said the surgeon who performed the operation.
Although the transplanted organ appeared to work at first, the patient began to show signs of rejection in recent days, the University of Maryland said. In January 2022, this same institution had performed the world’s first transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into a human being.
The procedure brought great hope, as xenotransplants — from animal to human — could remedy the shortage of organ donations. Currently, more than 100,000 Americans are on the transplant waiting list.
Transplants from animals to humans represent a real challenge, as the recipient’s immune system tends to attack the foreign organ. To reduce this risk, pig organs are genetically modified.
For many people, pigs are ideal donors because of their organ size, rapid growth and large litters. Recently, kidney transplants from genetically modified pigs have also been performed on brain-dead patients.
In September, the New York University Langone Hospital Transplant Institute announced that a pig kidney transplanted into a brain-dead patient worked for a record 61 days.
