The University of Maryland announced on Monday that American surgeons succeeded in transplanting a genetically modified pig heart into a human patient, in the first operation of its kind.
The university’s School of Medicine said in a statement that the surgery performed on Friday proved for the first time that an animal heart can survive in a human body without immediate rejection.
The patient, David Bennett (57 years old), was considered ineligible for a human heart transplant.
The patient residing in Maryland is undergoing intensive medical care to determine how the transplanted heart performs.
Bennett said on the eve of the operation, “Either I die or I undergo this transplant. I want to live... This is my last option.”
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for this surgery on New Year’s Eve, as a last step for a patient who was not eligible for a traditional transplant.
Surgeon Bartley Griffith, who performed the surgery, said, “This is a pioneering surgery and brings us a step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis.”
He added, “We are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this world-first surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future.”