Two months after historic transplant, first person to receive gene-edited pig heart dies

The first person to receive gene-edited heart of a pig has died two months after getting a historic transplant.

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.

David Bennett, 57, had received his transplant on January 7 and passed away March 8, the University of Maryland Medical System said in a statement.

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His condition began deteriorating several days ago, the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that Bennett 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.

"He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end. We extend our sincerest condolences to his family," said Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who led the procedure.

Bennett’s doctors said he had heart failure and an irregular heartbeat, plus a history of not complying with medical instructions.

Bennett’s son praised the hospital for offering the last-ditch experiment, saying the family hoped it would help further efforts to end the organ shortage.

“We are grateful for every innovative moment, every crazy dream, every sleepless night that went into this historic effort,” David Bennett Jr. said in a statement released by the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “We hope this story can be the beginning of hope and not the end.”

Bennett first came to UMMC as a patient in October and was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine to keep him alive, but he was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant.

After Bennett was implanted with a pig heart that had been genetically modified to prevent rejection in a first-of-its-kind surgery, his son called the procedure "a miracle."

The surgery, performed by a team at the hospital, was among the first to demonstrate the feasibility of a pig-to-human heart transplant, a field made possible by new gene editing tools. For Bennett, the procedure was his last option.

"Before consenting to receive the transplant, Mr. Bennett was fully informed of the procedure's risks, and that the procedure was experimental with unknown risks and benefits," the hospital said.

"We have gained invaluable insights learning that the genetically modified pig heart can function well within the human body while the immune system is adequately suppressed," said Muhammad Mohiuddin, director of the university's cardiac xenotransplantation program.

"We remain optimistic and plan on continuing our work in future clinical trials."

Reporting in US media also revealed Bennett was convicted of stabbing a man several times in 1988, leaving the victim paralysed and needing to use a wheelchair before he died in 2005.

Medical ethicists hold that a person's past criminal history should have no bearing on their future health treatment.

Pigs have long been a tantalising source of potential transplants because their organs are so similar to humans.

Prior efforts at pig-to-human transplants had failed because of genetic differences that caused organ rejection or viruses that posed an infection risk.

(With inputs from agencies)