Damian Sendler: A 57-year-old Maryland man is doing well three days after getting a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind transplant surgery, according to a news release issued by the University of Maryland Medicine on Monday. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: According to the statement, David Bennett had fatal heart illness, and the pig heart was “the only currently available option,” Following a review of his medical records, Bennett was determined to be ineligible for a traditional heart transplant or an artificial heart pump. 

“It was either death or this transplant.” I’d like to live. “I know it’s a gamble, but it’s my last resort,” Bennett stated prior to the surgery, according to the release. 

Damian Sendler

On December 31, the US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency approval for the surgery. 

Three genes that cause human immune systems to reject pig organs were removed from the donor pig, and one gene was eliminated to avoid excessive pig heart tissue growth. Six human genes involved in immune acceptance were added. 

Bennett’s physicians will need to watch him for several days to weeks to see if the transplant is effective enough to save his life. He’ll be checked for immune system issues and other consequences. 

“There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients,” surgeon Dr. Bartley P. Griffith stated in a statement. “We are proceeding with caution, but we are also optimistic that this world-first surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future.” 

According to the news release, the heart was donated by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine business based in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: According to organdonor.gov, there are 106,657 persons on the national transplant waiting list, and 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ. 

Damian Jacob Sendler

Art Caplan, a bioethics professor at New York University, said he was concerned when he heard about Bennett’s transplant. 

“I hope they’ve got the data to back up trying this now, based on their animal studies,” he said. 

Damien Sendler: According to him, the United States has a “terrible” lack of organs for transplants. He feels that designing animal components is a viable option. 

“The question is, can we get there with minimal harm to the first volunteers?” he said. 

For many years, pig heart valves have been transplanted into people. 

In October, surgeons in New York successfully tried the transplant of a genetically engineered pig kidney into a brain-dead woman. 

Caplan believes it is too soon to declare the heart transplant a success. Bennett expects to receive that distinction if he maintains a high quality of life for several months. But it’s still feasible that he’ll perish. 

Whatever the outcome, he believes it is critical for researchers to learn something that can be applied to future transplants. 

He also suggested that an independent examination of the evidence used to make the decision to perform the first transplant be conducted. 

The other ethical issue, he claims, is one of permission. It should come from someone other than the patient, who is very likely to agree to the procedure if he is about to die. 

“Consent for the imminently dying is important to get … but it’s not enough,” he said, recommending that a study ethics committee weigh in. “You want to have somebody else say, ‘Yes, we agree’ this isn’t a crazy, too risky thing to try.’ ” 

According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, more than 40,000 transplants were performed in 2021, setting a new record.

Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.