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First pig heart transplant patient dies after two months
The procedure raised hopes that advances in cross-species organ donation could one day solve the chronic shortage of human organs available for donation, and the team behind the operation say they are "optimistic" about its future success.
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This handout photo provided by the University of Alabama (UAB) shows the porcine kidneys that are prepared on the backbench for transplantation into the brain-dead recipient. (Left to right)Paige Porrett, M.D., Ph.D., Sara Macedon,Natalie Budd,andJayme LockeM.D. A US medical team on January 19, 2022 announced it had carried out the second-known kidney transplant from a pig to a human, the first inside the body of a brain dead recipient. (AFP/University of Alabama)
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he first person to receive a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig has died two months after the medical milestone, the hospital that carried out the surgery said Wednesday.
The procedure raised hopes that advances in cross-species organ donation could one day solve the chronic shortage of human organs available for donation, and the team behind the operation say they are "optimistic" about its future success.
David Bennett, 57, had received his transplant on January 7 and passed away March 8, the University of Maryland Medical System said in a statement.
"There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death," a hospital spokesman told AFP, adding that physicians were carrying out a review that would be published in a scientific journal.
Muhammad Mohiuddin, director of the university's cardiac xenotransplantation program, did however say in a video statement that Bennett was having "infectious episodes."
"We were having difficulty maintaining a balance between his immunosuppression and controlling his infection," he said.
Bennett's condition began deteriorating several days ago. After it became clear that he would not recover, he was given compassionate palliative care. He was able to communicate with his family during his final hours, a hospital statement said.
