Patient in Groundbreaking Heart Transplant Dies
Source: New York Times
The first person to have his failing heart replaced with that of a genetically altered pig in a groundbreaking operation died Tuesday afternoon at the University of Maryland Medical Center, two months after the transplant surgery. David Bennett Sr., who lived in Maryland, was 57. He had severe heart disease, and had agreed to receive the experimental pigs heart after he was rejected from several waiting lists to receive a human heart.
It was unclear whether his body had rejected the foreign organ. There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his death, a hospital spokeswoman said. Hospital officials said they could not comment further on the cause of death, because his physicians had yet to conduct a thorough examination. They plan to publish the results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Dr. Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who performed the transplant, said the hospitals staff was devastated by the loss of Mr. Bennett. He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end, Dr. Griffith said. Mr. Bennett became known by millions of people around the world for his courage and steadfast will to live.
The heart transplant was one of a number of pioneering procedures in recent months in which organs from genetically altered pigs were used to replace organs in humans. The process, called xenotransplantation, offers new hope for tens of thousands of patients with ailing kidneys, hearts and other organs, as there is an acute shortage of donated organs.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/health/heart-transplant-pig-bennett.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
question everything
(47,263 posts)took place.
jimfields33
(15,450 posts)Its going to take numerous tries before its perfect. Thank you and RIP.
usaf-vet
(6,092 posts)... might fail. It did And his sacrifice may make it possible for others to live longer.
R.I.P.
jimfields33
(15,450 posts)LisaL
(44,962 posts)Last edited Wed Mar 9, 2022, 10:25 PM - Edit history (1)
Rejection was going to take place sooner or later.
Was that predicted at the outset?
LisaL
(44,962 posts)successful because of rejection. The pig from which the heart was transplanted was genetically engineered to minimize rejection but it certainly seemed unlikely it was going to work right from the start. There are presumably multiple reasons for rejection of animal organs by humans.
Disaffected
(4,503 posts)What I wonder is did the researchers explicitly expect the heart to be rejected at some point and, if so, why.
I have seen nothing so far that suggests eventual rejection was considered a foregone conclusion.
BTW, the OP states that the cause of death was not immediately apparent which suggests that rejection may not have been the cause of death.
LisaL
(44,962 posts)Thus far there have been no successful transplants (that lasted) of animal organs to humans because of rejection. All the previous transplants of animal organs into humans failed after a short period of time because of rejection of an animal organ by a human system.
What exactly do you think was going to happen here?
Disaffected
(4,503 posts)was going to happen as I am not an authority on the matter. Hence my original question - what did the researchers expect to happen and why?? Did they expect rejection would necessarily occur at some point?
I do know however that this trial transplant was considered to be a significant advancement over those previous due mainly to the genetic mods made to the pig heart to prevent or at least reduce the chances of rejection.
LisaL
(44,962 posts)I personally didn't think it was going to last long, despite genetic modifications. Like I said, thus far there have been no successful lasting transplants of animal organs into humans.
eppur_se_muova
(36,227 posts)delisen
(6,039 posts)Bennetts transplant became controversial after the family of the victim ( who only lived for
19 years after the crime) revealed the pain and heartache they felt watching Mr Bennett being lionized for for undergoing the transplant.
Their account of the familys suffering due to the attack is difficult to read but is a strong reminder of how the effects of a violent. crime can destroy not only the victim but others in a family.
Jetheels
(991 posts)Skittles
(152,964 posts)Trump has no heart.
Jetheels
(991 posts)I dont think people use that word and even have the actual animal in mind.
And yeh, t**** is heartless.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)Skittles
(152,964 posts)"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Jetheels
(991 posts)Although i dont know how pigs treat humans as I have not known a pig.