An American child has made medical history by becoming the first person to receive a new heart and thymus gland in an operation that could change the future of organ transplants.
- Easton Cinnamon of North Carolina was born with a weak heart and weak immune system.
- Doctors from Duke University performed an experimental transplant, which has never been done
- Teen now ‘thriving’ and surgery could mean millions don’t need lifelong drugs
The child became the first person in the world to receive a combined heart and thymus transplant, bringing hope to millions of patients.
Easton Cinnamon was born with a weak heart and weak immune system and spent the first seven months in the hospital.
He required numerous heart surgeries as well as treatment for recurrent infections that his body could not fight on its own.
His doctors at Duke University in the US requested permission for an experimental type of transplant that had not previously been used in humans.
In addition to a new heart, they believed he needed a transplant of the thymus, a gland in the chest that produces white blood cells called T cells.
When our immune system detects a foreign body, it can send out these white blood cells to fight the infection.
The experts believed that when transplanting heart and thymus tissue from the same donor, the thymus would be deceived so that the new heart would not be considered a foreign body.
Easton Cinnamon became the first person in the world to undergo a combined heart and thymus transplant at just six months old.
Caitlin Cinnamon, Easton’s mother, pictured with a boy after surgery at Duke University.
Easton Cinnamon was born with a weak heart and weak immune system and spent the first seven months in the hospital. He required numerous heart surgeries
They were approved, and at the age of six months, Easton received a heart transplant, and two weeks later, a thymus tissue implant.
Now, at the age of one, he is said to be “thriving” after a procedure that could change the future of organ transplants.
Most transplant recipients need lifelong immunosuppressive medication to keep their immune systems from rejecting the new organ.
But taking these drugs for a long period can weaken their immune systems and make them extremely vulnerable to even mild infections.
Easton is still under observation and it is hoped that his anti-rejection drugs will be removed in the future.
Easton is still under observation and it is hoped that his anti-rejection drugs will be removed in the future. Here he is pictured with his father.
Dr. Joseph Turek, Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at Duke University and member of the surgical team that performed the landmark operation.
And doctors believe thousands of patients could potentially benefit if it proves successful.
Dr. Joseph Turek, chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Duke University and a member of the surgical team that performed the landmark operation, said, “This could change the way we think about solid organ transplants in the future.”
“If this approach is successful – and further testing is expected – it will mean that transplant recipients will not refuse a donor organ, and they will also not need to be treated with long-acting immunosuppressant drugs, which can be very toxic, especially to the kidneys. .
“This concept of tolerance has always been the holy grail in transplantation, and now we are at the threshold.” He added that this type of transplant could potentially benefit “thousands and thousands” of patients in the future.
Caitlin Cinnamon, Easton’s mother, said: “It was one of those things where it could help him, and if it works, it will help not only him, but thousands of other people with their children in need of transplants.”
“When we talked about it, it was like, ‘Why don’t we do this if we can make a difference for all these other people?’