WASHINGTON: A 58-year-old man with terminal heart disease who received the world’s second genetically-modified pig heart transplant has died nearly six weeks after the procedure, the medical centre that carried out the surgery said. Lawrence Faucette received the organ on September 20 and passed away on October 30, the University of Maryland Medical Centre said in a statement on Tuesday.
He had been deemed ineligible for a human heart transplant because of his advanced medical conditions, including peripheral vascular disease.
Though the transplant initially worked well, it began showing signs of rejection in recent days.
“We mourn the loss of Mr. Faucette, a remarkable patient, scientist, Navy veteran, and family man who just wanted a little more time to spend with his loving wife, sons, and family,” said surgeon Bartley P. Griffith, who performed the transplant.
The latest experimental procedure was part of a growing field of research aimed at advancing cross-species transplants, or xenotransplants, involving animal organs genetically modified to become less likely to trigger rejection in humans.
It is hoped that eventually they will help address the human donor gap, with more than 100,000 people in America alone currently awaiting an organ.
David Bennett Sr was the first person to receive a gene-edited pig heart transplant in January 2022, carried out by the same medical team.
He passed away after two months with the medical centre ascribing his death to “a multitude of factors including his poor state of health” prior to the operation, though it was also later found that the organ was infected with a virus. – AFP
