(Image source from: news.abplive.com)
For the first time, the doctors of USA transplanted a pig heart into a human patient as a last attempt to save his life. The surgery took place in Maryland Hospital on Monday and the patient is doing well three days after the experiment was done. The doctors revealed that it would be quite early to see if the operation clicks for a human patient. The doctors of University of Maryland Medical Center said that the transplant has been an experiment and it showed that a genetically modified heart of an animal can function in the human body and there is no immediate rejection. The patient was identified as David Bennett and he is 57-years-old. He was ineligible for the human heart transplant and is about to die.
Then the doctors conducted a transplant and his family was not assured any guarantee. "I want to live and it was my last choice" told Bennett before the surgery. There is a huge shortage of organs across the globe. There were 3800 heart transplants conducted in USA last year. Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, scientific director told that there would be endless supply of the organs if this works. There are chances that the patient's bodies reject the organs of the animals. The surgeon of the Maryland Hospital used the pig's heart that underwent gene editing.
By Siva Kumar