Cardiac surgeons from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore successfully transplanted a 57-year-old man with the heart of a genetically modified pig.

Although only a few days have passed since the 7-hour surgery, it can already be said that the surgery performed in Baltimore has proven that the pig's heart can work in the human body without immediate rejection. This is a real breakthrough and a great success for American doctors.

Patient - David Bennett - is fine. It is not known yet what his chances of long-term survival look like. For now, his new organ is supported by a mechanical heart-lung.

The FDA has approved xenotransplantation on the condition that it will be the absolute last chance to save his life. And so it was - D. Bennett was already in such a bad shape that he was not eligible for a heart from a deceased donor.

A pig whose heart was used for transplantation has been genetically modified - several genes encoding substances that stimulate the recipient's rejection mechanisms have been removed.

"The operation will bring the world one step closer to addressing the organ shortage crisis," said Dr. Bartley P. Griffith, who led the team that performed the procedure. - Every day 17 people die in the US waiting for a transplant, and there are over 100,000 on the waiting list. patients - the specialist reminded.

In October 2021, New York City surgeons announced that they had successfully transplanted a pig kidney into a human. This operation was the most advanced experiment in the field of xenotransplantation at the time, but the recipient in this case was a person diagnosed with brain death.