The First Pig Heart Transplant
Xenotransplantation, a term used to describe the process of replacing a human organ with a matching animal organ. This process has long been in the pipeline of medical science research, with a bunch of institutes working tirelessly to perfect this revolutionary discovery.
On the 7th of january 2022 a boldfaced quantum step was taken, a step that could change the science of xenotransplantation. Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center successfully replaced David Bennett’s heart with the heart of a genetically cultured pig.
The transplant was a two sided coin of a huge risk and huge profit depending on the outcome. Shaky hands, nervous hearts and aching skepticisms are akin to record breaking steps, just like the gifted hands of the novel neurologist Ben Carson.
57 years old David Bennett who has a consistently deteriorating terminal heart disease,
that has now kept him hinged on cardiac support for two months.
A day to his surgery, Mr Bennett explained.
“It was either die or do this transplant,”
“I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice,”
But his consent wasn’t enough to get the hands of the University of Maryland Medical center surgeons on the surgery desk, they were also given a unique leeway to carry out this procedure by the US medical regulator.
The surgery team included the Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Dr Christine Lau.
She said to the BBC “He’s at more of a risk because we require more immunosuppression, slightly different than we would normally do in a human-to-human transplant. How well the patient does from now is, you know, it’s never been done before so we really don’t know,”
It’s more than three days and 57 year old David Benneth, who is still under peering eyes of monitoring, seems to be faring well.
A Peek Into Xenotransplant
A group of New York surgeons came up to announce a claim of a successful pig to human kidney transplant in october 2021, although the use of pig valves banally preceded it.
The organ host pig to be used is uniquely reared and cultured to knock off genes that cause organ rejection in the recipient’s body. Hence aiding organ compatibility.
There are certain anatomical similarities between the human and pig organs, however. They do not look alike. Additionally, the host pig must be reared to a certain age at which its organs are due for harvesting.
Could Xenotransplantation Be a Cure For Organ Shortage?
In the United States, there is an average of 17 persons dying per day, with an endless list of human lives cued to have a transplant.
Take a look at these disturbing statistics from the New York times.
“Last year, some 41,354 Americans received a transplanted organ, more than half of them receiving kidneys, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit that coordinates the nation’s organ procurement efforts.
But there is an acute shortage of organs, and about a dozen people on the lists die each day. Some 3,817 Americans received human donor hearts last year as replacements, more than ever before, but the potential demand is still higher.”
A successful xenotransplant would be a game changer for the world, not just the United States,as millions of human can have their lives handed back to them.
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