David Bennett Sr. (right).Photo: EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Thefirst person to receive a pig heart transplantdied on Tuesday, two months after the procedure, the University of Maryland Medical Center announced.
David Bennett Sr. was 57, and had received the gene-edited pig heart from surgeons at the hospital on Jan. 7 in a last-chance effort to save him after he was “deemed ineligible” for atraditional heart transplant.
Doctors did not share an exact cause of death or if Bennett’s body had rejected the transplant, butsaid in a statementthat “his condition began deteriorating several days ago.”
Doctors operating on Bennett.EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Prior to the transplant, Bennett had been diagnosed with terminal heart disease and was hospitalized and bedridden for several weeks. His low chance of survival made him ineligible for a traditional heart transplant, and the genetically modified pig heart — which doctors hoped would be the start of a new pathtowards untraditional organ transplantsfor people in need — was the last option.
“It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice,” Bennett said before the surgery. “I look forward to getting out of bed after I recover.”
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The transplant was initially deemed successful when Bennett’s body did not immediately reject the new organ. It “performed very well for several weeks without any signs of rejection,” the hospital said Wednesday, and Bennett, from Hagerstown, Maryland, was able to start physical therapy and spend time with his family.
Doctors with the pig heart.EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
But in recent days, he started to decline.
“After it became clear that he would not recover, he was given compassionate palliative care,” the hospital said. “He was able to communicate with his family during his final hours.”
In a statement, Bennett’s son, David Bennett Jr., thanked the hospital and staff for all their work trying to keep his father alive.
“We hope this story can be the beginning of hope and not the end,” Bennett Jr. said. “We also hope that what was learned from his surgery will benefit future patients and hopefully one day, end the organ shortage that costs so many lives each year.”
source: people.com
