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Surgeons successfully transplant genetically modified pig hearts into patients


In a desperate attempt to save the life of a 57-year-old man, doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine succeeded in providing the first medical treatment. Each , last Friday, surgeons successfully transplanted a pig heart into a patient as part of an experimental procedure.

In doing so, they showed that a genetically engineered animal organ could survive and function in the human body without being immediately rejected. Three days after the procedure, David Bennett, who underwent the surgery, is still alive and “fine,” according to the hospital.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the process on compassionate grounds. Bennett is not eligible for a traditional heart transplant and has run out of other options. “It either dies or does this transplant. I want to live. I know it was a shot in the dark, but it is my last resort,” he said in a statement before doctors operated on him.

Scientists have tried save people with animal organs for many decades. One of the most notable efforts occurred in 1984 when doctors transplanted baboon hearts , a child was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The congenital disorder left her body incapable of proper blood circulation. Baby Fae, as she is better known, survived for 21 days before her body finally rejected the transplanted organ.

Based on New York Times, what makes this latest procedure different is that the doctors used a heart that has been genetically engineered to remove four genes that encode a molecule that causes the body to reject the orphaned organ. They also inserted six human genes to make the immune system more tolerant of foreign tissues. Whether the test represents a breakthrough will depend on what happens next. Bennett’s body was still able to reject the pig’s heart. For now, however, he is alive and well, and doctors are excited about what this could mean for patients.

“If this works, there will be an endless supply of these organs for patients who are suffering,” said Dr. . Related press. That would be a significant change from the status quo. Follow , more than 100,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list, and 17 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant.

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