Surgeons in Baltimore, United States, transported the heart of a genetically modified pig into a man with terminal heart disease who had no other hope of treatment. The announcement was made this Friday by the University of Maryland Medical Center.
This is the second procedure of its kind ever performed by surgeons. The first patient, 57-year-old David Bennett, died two months after the operation, but the transplanted pig heart worked well and there were no signs of acute organ rejection, a major risk in procedures of this type.
The second patient, Lawrence Faucette, aged 58, is a Navy veteran and resident of Maryland, USA. The American, who is married and has two children, underwent surgery this Wednesday. He is now “recovering well and communicating with his loved ones,” the medical center said in a statement.
‘Fight for every breath’
Faucette, who had terminal heart disease, was so ill that he had been rejected from all transplant programs that use human donors. Before the surgery, he had said that “at least now he has hope and a chance”. The American stated that he will “fight tooth and nail for every breath he can take.”
The transplant was performed by doctor Bartley Griffith, who also operated on the first patient. Bennett died after suffering “multiple complications”, and traces of a virus that infects pigs were found. The discovery raised concerns that xenotransplants could introduce new pathogens into humans.
Hospital officials said they tested the pig “repeatedly” over the past week. Before undergoing the transplant, however, Faucette recognized that it would be a miracle if she managed to leave the hospital and go home – and an even bigger one if she managed to live for months or years. On the subject, he said that “realistically, [o procedimento] It’s still in the initial learning phase.”
Xenotransplantes
In recent years, science has made great strides with gene editing and cloning technologies designed to make animal organs less likely to be rejected by the human immune system. And although the advances are still in their early stages, they offer hope for those who need surgery urgently.
The heart transplanted to Faucette came from a pig that had received 10 genetic modifications. The animal was provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia. Before transplantation, the pig was tested for viruses, bacteria and parasites.
