The second patient in the world to receive a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig He died six weeks after his operation.and a year and a half after the death of the first patient, announced the American medical center that carried out the procedure.
Lawrence Faucette58, had been deemed unsuitable for a human heart transplant due to his advanced heart disease, with the transplant being a pig heart “the only option”according to a statement from the University of Maryland, in the United States, published on Tuesday.
“We mourn the loss of Faucette, an extraordinary patient, scientist, veteran of the Marina and family man “He just wanted to spend a little more time with his wife, his children and his family,” said the surgeon who performed the operation.
Although the graft seemed to work at first, the patient began showing signs of rejection in recent days, the University of Maryland said. The institution had already held in January 2022 the world’s first transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into a human being.
The transplant had raised great hopes, since this type of xenotransplantation – from animal to human – could remedy the shortage of organ donations. Currently, more than 100,000 Americans are on the waiting list for a transplant.