The groundbreaking surgery is the second of its kind|University of Maryland Medicine
Doctors at the University of Maryland Medicine successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig’s heart into a 58-year-old Navy veteran facing heart failure, saving his life. It is only the second time a surgery like this has been performed.
The hospital shared a video of cardiac xenotransplant patient Lawrence Faucette in healthy condition, noting his new heart is functioning well and he is breathing without device assistance.
The surgery was on September 15 after approval from the FDA.
The same team of Maryland doctors performed the first-ever pig heart transplant surgery in 2022 on David Bennett, but he survived for just two months.
The next few weeks will be critical for Faucette as it will show if his body adapts to the pig heart. “I will fight tooth and nail for every breath I can take,” he says.
Why is it important
According to government data, more than 6,000 patients die every year waiting for an organ transplant. Currently, 110,000 Americans are on waiting lists.
Genetically modified pig organs offer them a second chance for survival, and the FDA is approving trials on brain-dead humans. Just last month, a team of NYU surgeons successfully transplanted a genetically altered pig kidney into a brain-dead man, which continued to function for more than 30 days.