In a first, doctors at the University of Maryland have transplanted a genetically-altered pig heart into the body of a 57-year-old patient.
The successful landmark surgery was performed by a Pakistani doctor, Doctor Mansoor Mohiuddin. He was assisted by a team of other surgeons from the University of Maryland.
According to a report by an international news outlet, the implant came as a last home to save the patient, David Bennnet’s life. Bennet is the first person in the world to receive a genetically modified pig-heart transplant.
Dr. Mohiuddin hails from Karachi and graduated from the Dow University of Health Sciences. In an interview, he said that experiments had been done on monkey hearts for heart transplants earlier. However, the experiments failed but trials conducted on pigs’ hearts were successful, Dr. Mohiuddin said.
He added that pigs grew very quickly and in just a month, a pig’s heart was close in size to a human heart. Speaking about the patient, Dr. Mohiuddin said that the patient and the heart needed to be closely monitored following the procedure.
The international news outlet added that the US medical regulator granted doctors a special permission to conduct the procedure as a life-saving operation. It added that Bennet was unable to receive a human transplant as his health was poor.
