A 58-year-old man who underwent the second pig heart transplant in the U.S. has died in six weeks.
According to AFP, Lawrence Fawcett, a patient who underwent a pig heart transplant on the 1st, died about six weeks after the surgery.
Fawcett underwent an organ transplant on September 20, but died on October 30. AFP reported that Fawcett’s body began to respond a few days later, although he seemed to be adapting well immediately after the surgery.
This experiment is the study of transplanting organs from genetically modified animals into humans. Brain-dead patients are selected as subjects for experiments and transplant surgery is being carried out.
In January last year, researchers at the University of Maryland performed a pig heart transplant for the first time, but died two months later. At that time, it was revealed that the cause of death was that the patient’s other organs were infected with the virus.
If this technology is commercialized, it is expected to solve the shortage of organ donations. AFP reported that it is estimated that more than 100,000 people are currently waiting to receive organ donations in the United States alone.
Jennifer KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
