The world’s second patient to receive a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig has died six weeks after his operation and a year and a half after the death of the first patient, the American medical center that performed the operation announced.
• Also read: For the second time, a pig’s heart was transplanted into a human
Lawrence Faucette, 58, was deemed ineligible for a human heart transplant due to advanced heart disease, with a pig heart transplant being “the only option,” according to a press release issued on Tuesday by the University of Maryland in the US.
“We mourn the loss of Mr. Faucette, a remarkable patient, scientist, Marine veteran and family man who simply wanted to spend a little more time with his wife, sons and family,” said the surgeon who performed the surgery.
Although the transplant initially appeared to be growing, the patient began showing signs of rejection in recent days, the University of Maryland noted.
In January 2022, the facility carried out the world’s first transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into a human.
The transplant had raised great hopes because such xenotransplants – from animals to humans – could potentially help solve the shortage of organ donations. There are currently more than 100,000 Americans on the transplant waiting list.
These xenografts pose a real challenge because the recipient’s immune system tends to attack the foreign organ. To reduce this risk, pig organs are genetically modified.
For many, pigs are ideal organ donors due to their size, rapid growth and the number of litters with many young animals.
Kidney transplants from genetically modified pigs have recently also been carried out on brain-dead patients.
The Transplant Institute at NYU Langone Hospital in New York announced in September that a pig kidney transplanted into a brain-dead patient functioned for a record 61 days.