Surgeons perform the first transplant of a pig heart to a human patient

By Doha Madani -

The man who received the first successful transplant from a pig heart to a human body is in good health days after surgery,

, according to the University of Maryland.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted clearance for the emergency procedure on David Bennett, 57, on New Year's Eve, reported the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Bennett, who was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant, was hospitalized for six weeks with a life-threatening arrhythmia and was hooked up to a circulation machine.

[Reveal the results of the historic transplant of face and hands]

Patient David Bennett (right) and Dr. Bartley Griffith, University of Maryland

Dr. Bartley Griffith, the surgeon, described the transplant on Monday as "revolutionary surgery."

"There are simply not enough human hearts available from donors to meet the long list of potential recipients," Griffith explained in a statement.

"We are proceeding with caution, but we are also optimistic that this world's first surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future," he added.

Griffith and Dr. Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine,

Bennet will continue to be monitored for the next several weeks, but appears to be in good condition three days after surgery.

The successful transplant of a kidney from a pig to a human is a big step in a long way to go

Oct. 20, 202101: 45

“It was either dying or having this transplant.

I want to live, ”he

said before surgery, according to the hospital.

Pig and cow tissues have been used successfully for heart valve replacement, according to Harvard University School of Medicine.

These valves generally last around 15 years and do not require the use of blood-thinning medications, unlike a mechanical valve, which can last a lifetime.

[After a long battle, a Colombian woman suffering from a degenerative disease dies by euthanasia]

Surgeon Muhammad M. Mohiuddin leads the team that transplanted a modified heart from a pig into a human at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland on January 7, 2022. UMSOM / via REUTERS

Last year, scientists at New York University School of Medicine were able to temporarily transplant a pig kidney into the body of a deceased woman, NPR reported in October.

Xenotransplantation, the term used to designate transplants from an animal species to a human being, have developed as the demand for organs has increased.

According to the FDA,

.