The recipient of the first genetically modified pig heart died two months later

The hospital does not provide a detailed explanation of Bennett’s sudden depression. The hospital says, “Bennett was fully aware of the risks of the procedure and that the procedure was experimental with unknown risks and benefits.”

Organs from genetically modified animals are a potential solution to organ deficiency in transplant patients. “If this works, it will mean an unlimited supply of organs for patients,” the transplant program manager said before the surgery.

A modified pig kidney was also transplanted in New York last year. However, the patient who obtained this organ was already dead.

“Valuable insights”

Expectations have already been tempered by the hospital in Baltimore before the surgery: “These kinds of events can be exaggerated in the press, but it’s important to put them in perspective. It takes a long time for a treatment like this to fully develop.”

According to the hospital, Bennett’s surgery provided “invaluable insight into that a heart from a genetically modified pig can function properly in the human body.” These types of pioneering surgeries “we hope will provide valuable insights for transplant physicians to improve outcomes.”