JAKARTA - A 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease who made history as the first person to receive genetically modified pork heart, died Tuesday at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), the hospital said.
The man known as David Bennett made history when he became the first to receive a pig heart transplant on January 7.
His condition began to deteriorate a few days ago, the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday, and he was given "loving palliative care" after it became clear he would not recover.
Bennett was unable to overcome what turned out to be a devastating weakness caused by the heart failure he had before the transplant, said Dr. Bennett. Bartley Griffith, director of the UMCC heart transplant program, in a statement recorded on video.
"The transplanted heart is functioning 'beautifully'," Griffith said.
The hospital said Bennett was able to communicate with his family during his final hours.
Bennett first came to UMMC as a patient in October and was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine, but was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant.
After Bennett received a pig heart that had been modified to prevent rejection using a new gene editing tool, his son called the procedure a 'miracle.' As for Bennett, the procedure was his last resort.
"Prior to agreeing to accept the transplant, Mr Bennett was fully informed of the risks of the procedure, and that the procedure is experimental with unknown risks and benefits," the hospital said.
It is known that researchers have long considered pigs as a potential source of organs for transplantation, as they are anatomically similar to humans in many respects.
Previous attempts at transplanting pigs to humans have failed, due to genetic differences leading to organ rejection or viruses that pose a risk of infection.
"The demonstration that it's possible, that we can take a genetically engineered organ and see it functioning perfectly for nine weeks, is quite positive in terms of the therapeutic potential of this," said Griffith.
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