A second American transplanted with a pig heart
Sylvie Claire / September 29, 2023
A second patient at University Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, has had a pig heart implanted. The patient is a 58-year-old man suffering from life-threatening heart disease.
The father of two is currently doing well, breathing independently and able to talk to his family and friends. The heart functions well without being connected to machines.
Last January, a man in Baltimore received his first genetically modified pig heart transplant. He died two months later.
Scientists have been researching xenotransplantation - the transplantation of animal organs into humans - since the 1980s. Pigs are particularly well-suited to the task, as their metabolism is similar to that of humans.