A 57-year-old man with a life-threatening heart condition has received a new heart from a genetically altered pig. It’s the first successful transplant of a pig’s heart into a human body. The 8-hour operation took place in Baltimore at the University of Maryland Medical Center on Friday. Doctors at the medical center said the patient, David Bennett Sr. of Maryland, is doing well.
… His son said that his father was mostly healthy until he started experiencing chest pains, fatigue, and shortness of breath in October. After two months in the hospital, Bennett had received several failed treatments and his condition was worsening. He was not a candidate for a human donor heart because he was too sick.. It was either die or do the transplant.
… More than 100,000 Americans are currently on organ transplant waitlists, and 17 people die every day because they cannot get the donor organs they need in time.