Patient in groundbreaking heart transplant dies

The first person to have his failing heart replaced with that of a genetically altered pig in a groundbreaking operation died Tuesday afternoon at the University of Maryland Medical Center, two months after the transplant surgery.

>>Roni Caryn RabinThe New York Times
Published : 9 March 2022, 04:20 PM
Updated : 9 March 2022, 04:20 PM

David Bennett Sr, who lived in Maryland, was 57. He had severe heart disease, and had agreed to receive the experimental pig’s heart after he was rejected from several waiting lists to receive a human heart.

It was unclear whether his body had rejected the foreign organ. “There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death,” a hospital spokeswoman said.

Hospital officials said they could not comment further on the cause of death, because his physicians had yet to conduct a thorough examination. They plan to publish the results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

Dr Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who performed the transplant, said the hospital’s staff was “devastated” by the loss of Bennett.

“He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end,” Griffith said. “Mr. Bennett became known by millions of people around the world for his courage and steadfast will to live.”

The heart transplant was one of a number of pioneering procedures in recent months in which organs from genetically altered pigs were used to replace organs in humans. The process, called xenotransplantation, offers new hope for tens of thousands of patients with ailing kidneys, hearts and other organs, as there is an acute shortage of donated organs.

Bennett’s transplant was initially deemed successful. It is still considered a significant step forward, because the pig’s heart was not immediately rejected and continued to function for well over a month.

The heart given to Bennett came from a genetically altered pig provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia.

On New Year’s Eve, the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency authorization for the experimental surgery, which was done a week later.

The transplanted heart performed well initially, and there were no signs of rejection for several weeks. Bennett spent time with his family, did physical therapy and watched the Super Bowl, hospital officials said.

But he was not discharged, and several days ago his condition started to deteriorate, hospital officials said.

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