Pig heart was transplanted into a human for the first time .

Surgeons prepare genetically engineered pig heart for transplant

University of Maryland School of Medicine

 FOR the first time, a human has been given a transplant of a pig’s heart. David Bennett, 57, had the operation in Baltimore, Maryland, on 7 January using a heart that had been genetically modified to boost the chances of acceptance in a human body.

 

The donated heart came from a pig developed by US firm Revivicor. In total, the animal had 10 genes modified. Four of those were inactivated, including one that causes an aggressive immune response and one that would otherwise cause the pig’s heart to continue growing after transplant into a human body.

To further increase the chances of acceptance, the donor pig had six human genes inserted into its genome and Bennett is taking immune-suppressing medications. As this story went to press, Bennett was coping well with the new heart, but hadn’t yet been taken off a heart-lung bypass machine supporting its. function . 

Transplants from other animals, known as xenotransplantation, have long been seen as a way to save the lives of the thousands of people who die each year while waiting for an organ transplant. The chief concern is whether our immune systems will accept such transplants, as organ rejection can happen even between carefully immunologically matched human donors and recipients.

Bennett was approved to have the risky procedure as he was too sick to go on the waiting list to get a human heart. If he is successfully taken off the bypass machine and continues to stay well, it could open the door to such transplants for a growing pool of other people. It could also lead to pig-to-human transplants of kidneys, livers and lungs in future.