Lawrence Faucette, 58, was unable to receive a human heart transplant because of advanced heart disease. Pig heart transplantation is therefore “the only option,” according to a press release from the University of Maryland in the USA. However, the latter failed a few weeks after the operation.
The transplant will not have taken place. 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.
As AFP reports in an article published by La Dépêche, it was Lawrence Faucette, 58 years old. The latter was considered unsuitable for a human heart transplant due to advanced heart disease. A pig heart transplant was “the only option” at the time, according to a press release from the University of Maryland in the USA.
Signs of rejection in the last few days
“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. And although the transplant initially appeared to be a success, the patient began showing signs of rejection in recent days, the University of Maryland found.
The facility had already carried out the world’s first transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into a human in January 2022, without further success.