First surgery of its kind:
The heart of a genetically modified pig was implanted in the body of an American man, who is suffering from a terminal heart disease - his doctors announced yesterday (Monday).
Three days after the procedure is performed, the patient's condition is good.
For the transplant recipient, 57-year-old David Bennett from Maryland, the surgery was his last chance to continue living.
"It was either to die or do this transplant," he explained the day before the surgery.
"I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," he said last Thursday.
The surgery, performed in the city of Baltimore by a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is among the first to demonstrate the feasibility of an animal heart transplant in humans.
If the organ is indeed absorbed into the transplanted body, the surgery may pave the way for advances in medical-scientific research, which is expected to affect human life.
The doctors received a special permit from the FDA to perform the experimental procedure, based on the fact that if it had not been performed - Bennett would have died.
"It was a groundbreaking surgery that brought us one step closer to resolving the organ shortage crisis. There are not enough human hearts to transplant for the long list of those waiting for them," said Dr. Bartley Griffith, who implanted the pig's heart in the patient.
"We continue with caution, but are also optimistic that the first surgery in this world will provide a new and important option for future patients," Griffith added.
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