The first person who received a heart transplant from a pig died on Tuesday nearly two months after the procedure, the University of Maryland Medical Center said.
David Bennett, 57, received the transplant on January 7 in a last-ditch effort to save his life. Doctors didn't give an exact cause of death but said his condition had started deteriorating several days ago.
Dr. Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who performed the transplant, said the hospital staff was "devastated" by Bennett's death.
"He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end," Griffith said in the statement. "Mr. Bennett became known by millions of people around the world for his courage and steadfast will to live."
Bennett had severe heart disease and had been rejected from several waiting lists for a traditional human heart transplant. Doctors suggested a revolutionary transplant using a genetically modified pig's heart, also known as a xenotransplantation, the Associated Press reported.
The pig heart went through a gene-editing process to remove a sugar that's known for causing organ rejection. In theory, the patient would accept the heart as its own instead of recognizing it as a foreign object, according to The New Yorker.
The Food and Drug Administration had given doctors a green light for the surgery under the "compassionate use" emergency authorization because other options were unavailable to save him. Doctors informed Bennett of the seriousness of the experimental procedure, emphasizing that the risks and benefits were unknown.
"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," Bennett said a day before the surgery, according to AP.
Following the procedure, Bennett was doing well with the new heart. There were no signs of rejection and he was able to attend physical therapy to regain strength. He spent time with his family and watched the Super Bowl with his physical therapist.
"As with any first-in-the-world transplant surgery, this one led to valuable insights that will hopefully inform transplant surgeons to improve outcomes and potentially provide lifesaving benefits to future patients," Griffith said in the statement.
After two months, his condition started to deteriorate. After it became clear that Bennett would not recover, he was given palliative care and was able to talk with his family during his final hours.
Dr. Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, a professor of surgery and scientific director of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, added that they were grateful to Bennett for his "unique and historic role" for helping to understand xenotransplantation better. He said he is hopeful the information will potentially provide "lifesaving benefits to future patients."
Update: 3/9/22, 12:11 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
