David Bennett, the first patient to undergo pig heart transplant surgery, has died

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center have obtained a special exemption from the U.S. regulator to perform this procedure based on Bennett’s condition – in bed – at the terminal.

He underwent surgery on Jan. 7, doctors say in the weeks following He spent time with his family, watched the Super Bowl football game and talked about his dog Lucky wanting to come home..

However, his health deteriorated and the doctors did a “disaster”.

“He proved to be a brave and classic patient who fought to the end,” said Bartley Griffith Hospital, a surgeon who performed the transplant.

Griffith had previously said that the surgical world would “be one step ahead in resolving the organ shortage crisis.” Currently, 17 people a day in the United States are waiting for transplant surgery, while there are reports More than 100,000 patients are on the waiting list In that country.

The possibility of using animal organs to meet human need – is called a process xenotransplantation– has long been considered, and the use of pig heart valves is already a common procedure.

In October 2021, doctors in New York announced the successful transplantation of a pig’s kidney into a human. Until then, surgery was the most advanced experiment in that field.

However, in that case, the patient has reached the brain drain and there is no hope of recovery.

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