A Man Just Got The World's First Pig Heart Transplant & Some People Are Not Cool With It
It was genetically altered to work for a human đź‘€
Doctors from the University of Maryland School of Medicine just made history by successfully transplanting a genetically-modified pig's heart into a human.
The surgery was conducted on a terminally ill 57-year-old man, David Bennett, who was struggling with heart disease and had exhausted all options, said a news release by the university.
"It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," said Bennett before the surgery. "I look forward to getting out of bed after I recover."
Three days after the procedure, Bennett was still in stable condition, suggesting that the surgery had been successful and his body was not rejecting the new foreign organ.
"This organ transplant demonstrated for the first time that a genetically-modified animal heart can function like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body," said the news release.
Bennett will be carefully monitored over the next few weeks to ensure that the procedure results are safe and prove to have life-saving effects.
The surgery was given emergency authorization on New Year's Eve by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, given the transplant was the patient's only available option to life.
The heart was transplanted into the patient by Dr. Bartley P. Griffith, a professor for transplant surgeries at the university.
"This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis," said Dr. Griffith. "There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients."
However, some people have raised questions on the ethics of the surgery.
The surgery was not conducted as part of a clinical trial, which is usually required for cutting-edge procedures like this one, reported Stat News. Bennet was also given drugs to help him accept the transplant that have not been tested on animals other than humans, which has raised some eyebrows.
The surgery also raised questions about the ethics of using animals for human transplants.
PETA, the animal rights organization, called the surgery "unethical" in a statement condemning the breakthrough.
"Animal-to-human transplants are unethical, dangerous, and a tremendous waste of resources that could be used to fund research that might actually help humans," said Dr. Alka Chandna, vice president of laboratory investigations cases at PETA.
Dr. Chandna also suggested that viruses that can be transmitted from animals to humans because of such surgeries.
"The risk of transmitting unknown viruses along with the animal organ are real and, in the time of a pandemic, should be enough to end these studies forever," she said.
"Animals aren't toolsheds to be raided but complex, intelligent beings. It would be better for them and healthier for humans to leave them alone and seek cures using modern science."