Earlier this summer, doctors at NYU Langone were able to successfully transplant pig hearts into two recently deceased people. The medical team performed the procedures on June 16 and July 6, using special pig hearts that had been genetically modified to be more acceptable for transplant into a human body. Both bodies were donated from recently deceased people and placed on a ventilator so that the efficacy of the pig hearts could be measured more accurately.
The study arrives as the field of xenotransplantation — or the act of transferring organs from one species to another — is under increased scrutiny. The first person to undergo a pig heart transplant died earlier this year from what scientists believe was an adverse reaction to a drug to prevent rejection. The heart also contained DNA associated with a swine virus. After the incident, the medical community called for more meaningful research on the subject, as well as better safety protocols. Meanwhile, the FDA is considering approval of human pig heart transplant clinical trials, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.
Both human subjects — a 72-year-old Navy veteran and a 64-year-old retired teacher from New York — were monitored for three days before being taken off life support. Neither heart required external support and functioned normally, which the researchers see as a promising sign for future research. Despite the positive outcome of the New York University experiment, surgeons warned that much more research is needed before pig heart transplants are a viable alternative for people with heart disease.
“This is not a one-time situation. It’s going to be years of learning what’s important and what’s not important to make this work,” Dr. Robert Montgomery of New York University told The Associated Press.
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