They modify pig genes to be used in transplantation 1:16
(CNN) ––
A Maryland man who received the first transplant of a genetically modified pig heart in a groundbreaking surgery has died, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) reported.
David Bennett, 57, lived two months after the first such transplant surgery, but his "condition began to deteriorate several days ago," the medical center said in a statement.
“After it became clear that he would not recover, he was given compassionate palliative care.
He was able to communicate with her family during her last hours,” UMMC said.
Bennett died Tuesday.
Doctors transplant a pig heart into a human 1:50
Bennett suffered from terminal heart disease and was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant or an artificial heart after reviewing his medical records.
Making the genetically modified pig heart the only option available, the medical center said at the time of the surgery.
“We are devastated by the loss of Mr. Bennett.
He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought to the end.
We express our deepest condolences to his family,” said Dr. Bartley P. Griffith, the surgeon who transplanted Bennett's pig heart.
"Mr. Bennett was known by millions of people around the world for his courage and steadfast will to live."
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Before the Jan. 7 transplant, Bennett had said he knew it was "a shot in the air."
They perform the first modified pig heart transplant 0:51
"It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the air, but it's my last option," Bennett had said, according to a previous statement from the medical center.
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