Man with genetically modified pig heart transplant dies
(VOVWORLD) - 57-year-old David Bennett, the first person in the world to receive a genetically modified pig’s heart, died on Tuesday at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), the hospital said. He received the transplant two months earlier.
 David Bennett Jr., (R) on January 12, 2022, five days after the surgery (Photo: University of Maryland School of Medicine)
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His condition began deteriorating several days ago, the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday, and he was given compassionate palliative care after it became clear that he would not recover.
Bennett was able to communicate with his family during his final hours, the hospital said.
After Bennett received a pig heart that had been modified to prevent rejection with the use of new gene editing tools, he had his heart-lung machine removed from January 10, able to sit up three days after that, and was expected to be able to move in a wheelchair from January 17.
The surgery opened an opportunity to deal with the current shortage of transplant organs.
Pig heart valves are routinely transplanted into humans. Live-cell pig skin has been used to graft on human burn victims.