Surgeons Successfully Transplant a Pig Heart Into a Human Patient

A 57-year-old man with life-threatening heart disease received a heart from a genetically modified pig. This is a breakthrough procedure that brings hope to hundreds of thousands of patients with organ failure. According to a surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the eight-hour surgery took place in Baltimore on Friday, and the patient, David Bennett Sr, was doing well on Monday. 

Last year, about 41,354 Americans received  transplanted organs, more than half of which received kidneys, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a non-profit organization that coordinates organ procurement activities in the United States. However, there is a serious shortage of organs, and about 12 people die on the list every day. Last year, about 3,817 Americans received more human donor heart replacements than ever before, but potential demand remains high.

Scientists are enthusiastic about developing pigs whose organs are not rejected by the human body, and over the last decade, new gene editing and cloning technologies have accelerated research. Heart transplants are done just months after a New York surgeon successfully attaches a genetically engineered pig kidney to a brain-dead person. Researchers hope that such procedures herald a new era of medicine in the future when there is no longer a shortage of more than 500,000 America waiting for kidneys and other organs.