The first person to receive a pig heart transplant has died two months after the historic procedure, the hospital that carried out the surgery said Wednesday.
According to AFP, David Benett who had received the heart implant on January 12, 2022, has been reported dead by the hospital administration.
The 57-year-old US citizen had become the first-ever person to get a genetically modified heart of a pig.
#UPDATE The first person to receive a pig heart transplant has died two months after the historic procedure, the hospital that carried out the surgery said Wednesday
📸 Surgeon Bartley Griffith (left) with patient David Bennett, who received the heart implant in January 2022 pic.twitter.com/r6HOlBdHze
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 9, 2022
David Bennett was suffering from terminal heart disease, he survived for two months after the surgery.
The cause of Benett’s death is unknown until now.
A statement issued by the surgeon Bartley Griffith, who performed Benett’s surgery read, “He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end.”
Factfile on the world’s first transplant of a pig heart into a human, following news of the death of recipient David Bennett, two months after the landmark procedure #AFPgraphics @AFP pic.twitter.com/E3nrRJ2pfg
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 9, 2022
Dr Griffith had said previously that innovative surgery would bring the world closer to solving the organ shortage problem.
The procedure raised hopes that advances in cross-species organ donation could one day solve the chronic shortage of human organs available for donation, and the team behind the operation say they still remain optimistic about its future success.
