|
 The surgery, performed by a team at the University of Maryland
Medicine on Jan. 7, is among the first to demonstrate the
feasibility of a pig-to-human heart transplant, a field made
possible by new gene editing tools.
If proven successful, scientists hope pig organs could help
alleviate shortages of donor organs. For 57-year-old David Bennett
of Maryland, the heart transplant was his last option.
"This is significant for my dad, for the United States, for the
world," David Bennett Jr., the patient's son, said on Thursday.
"This is groundbreaking, this is remarkable and frankly, this is a
miracle."
"I myself have some heart issues at 37 years old so my dad is
certainly changing the future for even myself."
On the morning of the surgery, the transplant team removed the pig's
heart and placed it into a special device to preserve its function
until the surgery.
[to top of second column] |
 "He was in the operating room
three days straight. He's got a lot of swelling
throughout his body, and so he's suffering a
great deal. This healing is going to be a
process and so again, the first words out of his
mouth were 'I can't take this' but I know how
strong my dad is."
Pigs have long been a tantalizing source of
potential transplants because their organs are
so similar to humans.
Prior efforts at pig-to-human transplants have
failed because of genetic differences that
caused organ rejection or viruses that posed an
infection risk.
Scientists have tackled that problem by editing
away potentially harmful genes and adding human
genes linked with immune acceptance.
(Reporting by Natasa Bansagi in Gdansk;
Additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in
Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
