US Surgeons Successfully Carry Out 1st Pig Heart Implant In A Human Being | READ DETAILS
Faith Ukanwa
Jan 11, 2022
US surgeons have successfully implanted a heart from a genetically modified pig in a 57-year-old man, a medical first that could one day help solve the chronic shortage of organ donations.
The "historic" procedure took place Friday, the University of Maryland Medical School said in a statement on Monday. While the patient's prognosis is far from certain, it represents a major milestone for animal-to-human transplantation.
READ ALSO: How a Nigerian Professor's AI System Could Predict Depression Before Symptoms Emerge
The patient, David Bennett, had been deemed ineligible for human transplant - a decision that is often taken when the recipient has very poor underlying health.
He is now recovering and being carefully monitored to determine how the new organ performs.
READ ALSO: WATCH VIDEO: Benue State Govt Recovers 30 Vehicles From Ortom's Automobile Workshop
"It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," the Maryland resident said a day before the surgery.
READ ALSO: REVEALED: How Common House Rats Can Kill - Shocking Truth Behind Silent Deaths in Nigerian Homes
Surgeons perform a transplant of a heart from a genetically modified pig to patient David Bennett, Sr., in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 7, 2022. AFP
READ ALSO: S-AD: Why I Am Into Armed Robbery - SS2 Student Tells Court |DETAILS
Bennett, who has spent the last several months bedridden on a heart-lung bypass machine, added: "I look forward to getting out of bed after I recover."
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the surgery on New Year's Eve, as a last-ditch effort for a patient who was unsuitable for a conventional transplant.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: President Tinubu Directs Swift Implementation of Tax Reforms
"This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis," said Bartley Griffith, who surgically transplanted the pig heart.
READ ALSO: How NCC Emerged as One of Nigeria's Top Five Best-Performing Agencies in 2025
"We are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this first-in-the-world surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future."
READ ALSO: Jim Iyke Sparks Outrage: "Doctors Are Trained Not to Heal - Sickness Is Their Business"
Muhammad Mohiuddin, who co-founded the university's cardiac xenotransplantation program, added the surgery was the culmination of years or research, involving pig-to-baboon transplants, with survival times that exceeded nine months.
READ ALSO: Court Sentence Smugglers Who Assaulted Customs Officers With Charms | READ DETAILS
"The successful procedure provided valuable information to help the medical community improve this potentially life-saving method in future patients," he said.
READ ALSO: WICKEDNESS: (PHOTOS) 4 BODIES EXHUMED FROM SEPTIC TANK IN LAGOS, SEE THE SUSPECTS AND REASONS
10 unique gene edits
Bennett's donor pig belonged to a herd that had undergone genetic editing procedures.
READ ALSO: How a Nigerian Professor's AI System Could Predict Depression Before Symptoms Emerge
Three genes that would have led to the rejection of pig organs by humans were "knocked out," as was a gene that would have led to excessive growth of pig heart tissue.
Six human genes responsible for human acceptance were inserted into the genome, for a total of 10 unique gene edits.
READ ALSO: WATCH VIDEO: Benue State Govt Recovers 30 Vehicles From Ortom's Automobile Workshop
The editing was performed by Virginia-based biotech firm Revivicor, which also supplied the pig used in a breakthrough kidney transplant on a brain-dead patient in New York in October.
READ ALSO: REVEALED: How Common House Rats Can Kill - Shocking Truth Behind Silent Deaths in Nigerian Homes
But while that surgery was purely a proof-of-concept experiment, and the kidney was connected outside the patient's body, the new surgery is intended to save a person's life.
READ ALSO: S-AD: Why I Am Into Armed Robbery - SS2 Student Tells Court |DETAILS
The donated organ was kept in an organ-preservation machine ahead of the surgery, and the team also used an experimental new drug made by Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals along with conventional anti-rejection drugs to suppress the immune system.
About 110,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and more than 6,000 patients die each year before getting one, according to official figures.
READ ALSO: JUST IN: President Tinubu Directs Swift Implementation of Tax Reforms
To meet demand, doctors have long been interested in so-called xenotransplantation, or cross-species organ donation, with experiments tracing back to the 17th century.
READ ALSO: How NCC Emerged as One of Nigeria's Top Five Best-Performing Agencies in 2025
Early research focused on harvesting organs from primates - for example, a baboon heart was transplanted into a newborn known as "Baby Fae" in 1984, but she survived only 20 days.
READ ALSO: Jim Iyke Sparks Outrage: "Doctors Are Trained Not to Heal - Sickness Is Their Business"
Today, pig heart valves are widely used in humans, and pigskin is grafted on human burn victims.
READ ALSO: Court Sentence Smugglers Who Assaulted Customs Officers With Charms | READ DETAILS
Pigs make the ideal donors because of their size, their rapid growth and large litters, and the fact they are already raised as a food source.
READ ALSO: WICKEDNESS: (PHOTOS) 4 BODIES EXHUMED FROM SEPTIC TANK IN LAGOS, SEE THE SUSPECTS AND REASONS
AFP
Related Stories
How Nonchalant Attitude at Federal Medical Centre Umuahia Is Turning Accident Victims Into Casualties - Shocking Findings Emerge
How a Nigerian Professor's AI System Could Predict Depression Before Symptoms Emerge
Jim Iyke Sparks Outrage: "Doctors Are Trained Not to Heal - Sickness Is Their Business"
Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria - Hon. Amobi Ogah Reveals at National Retreat
'Buhari Died In London Hospital After Promising Nigerians Quality Healthcare' - Activist Adetoun Attacks Late Ex President
REVEALED: How Common House Rats Can Kill - Shocking Truth Behind Silent Deaths in Nigerian Homes
""
— Faith Ukanwa