According to University of Maryland Medical School experts, the man who transplanted a modified pig's heart into his body was infected with swine virus.
According to The New York Times, David Bennett underwent a heart transplant in January 2022, and his new heart was operating normally for two months. But scientists believe the cause of his death may be a pig virus. Because it did not notice any sign of rejection of the new heart.
For his part, Dr. Bartley Griffitt, a cardiologist who performed this unique procedure, announced complications that may have led to his death.
According to him, the presence of a virus DNA in the patient may have helped to suddenly worsen the patient's state of health after more than a month of operation. But there is no evidence that the patient developed an active viral infection, or that his body rejected the modified pig's heart.
Griffitt notes that Bennett had an untreatable heart condition, was ineligible for a human heart transplant due to lack of human organs, and had never followed the doctor's instructions.
He says, "We started to think that the virus that emerged quickly on the twentieth day of the operation, started to develop and with time it spread everywhere, so that the patient on the 45 day of the operation seemed really scared and sick as if something had happened. He cared nothing anymore and had no desire to talk to us. He was lying on his bed, breathing hard, suffering from mild fever ".
The University of Maryland in the United States announced on Monday that two U.S. surgeons successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a sick human in the first operation of its kind.
The university's medical school said in a statement that the surgery performed Friday proved for the first time that the heart of an animal can live in a human body without immediate rejection.
- The pig's heart was transplanted into the body of 57-year-old patient David Bennett, who was considered ineligible for a human heart transfer.
- The Maryland-based patient undergoes intensive medical care to determine how the transplanted heart performs.
- Bennett said on the eve of the operation: "Either I die or I have this transplant. I want to live... It is my last choice ".
- The FDA granted emergency permission for this surgery on New Year's Eve, as a final step for a patient who was not eligible for the traditional transplant.
- The surgeon, Bartley Griffiths, who performed the procedure, said: "This is a pioneering surgery and it brings us a step closer to solving the organ deficiency crisis."
Griffiths added: "We are progressing with caution, but we are also optimistic that this first surgery in the world will provide an important new option for patients in the future."
David Bennett, the first person in the world to undergo a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig, died two months after his surgery in the United States.
According to doctors, his condition began deteriorating several days ago, and the 57-year-old died yesterday, March 8.
- They confirmed that Bennett knew the risks associated with the surgery
- telling doctors before the procedure that it was a "bullet in the dark."
- Three days after the surgery, University of Maryland Medical College doctors said the patient was in good health.
Bennett, who was considered ineligible for a human heart transfer, underwent intensive medical care to determine how the transplanted heart performed, and how well it performed its functions without disrupting the body's immune system.
The surgeon, Bartley Griffiths, who performed the procedure, said: "This is a pioneering surgery and it brings us a step closer to solving the organ deficiency crisis."