Lawrence Faucett, 58, had the operation in September.
The second man in the world to receive a pig heart transplant has died six weeks after receiving the organ.
This is reported by nypost.com with reference to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Lawrence Faucette, 58, a Navy veteran and retired National Institutes of Health laboratory technician, began showing signs that his body was rejecting pig heart just days before his Oct. 30 death.
Before that, he was making good progress in physical therapy to regain his ability to walk, and he even had the strength to play cards with his wife, according to the medical center.
In the final weeks of his life, Faucett, of Frederick, Maryland, developed an incredibly special relationship with his surgical team. According to his surgeon, Dr. Bartley P. Griffith, he was aware that his operation would have implications for major medical advances in the future.
“Faucette's last wish was for us to make the most of what we have learned from our experience so that others are guaranteed a chance at a new heart when a human organ is not available,” Griffith added. “Then he told the team of doctors and nurses gathered around him that he loved us. We will miss him dearly.”
Faucette first arrived at UMMC on Sept. 14 with end-stage heart failure and required intensive care at the time.
The next day, he received FDA approval for xenotransplantation surgery as a last resort because other health problems prevented Faucette from having a traditional human transplant.
The heart given to Faucette was modified to remove certain pig genes and also add human ones to prevent rejection.
Last year, UMCC completed the world's first pig heart transplant in 57-year-old David Bennett Sr., who lived with the organ for two months before contracting the pig virus.
“As with the first patient, David Bennett Sr., we intend to conduct extensive analysis to identify factors that can be prevented in future transplants; this will allow us to continue to move forward and educate our colleagues in this area of our expertise,” he added. surgeon Muhammad Mohiuddin. “We cannot thank Faucette and his family enough for allowing us to continue to make significant strides toward making xenografts a reality.”
Recently, NYU Langone Health successfully transplanted a pig kidney into a brain-dead patient through a similar gene editing process. In September, the organ successfully passed the two-month threshold before recipient Maurice Miller died 61 days after surgery.
Let us remind you that an emergency situation was declared in the Vinnytsia region due to an outbreak of hepatitis A. Currently, 144 patients with hepatitis A remain in hospitals in the Vinnytsia region.
Related topics:
More news
