In A First, US Doctors Transplant Gene-Edited Pig Heart To A Human

Doctors in Maryland, USA created history after they transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig to a man.

Doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine said that 57-year-old David Bennett is doing well three days after the highly experimental surgery.

"This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients," said Dr Bartley P. Griffith who led the surgery.

"This is the culmination of years of highly complicated research to hone this technique in animals with survival times that have reached beyond nine months. The successful procedure provided valuable information to help the medical community improve this potentially life-saving method in future patients," said Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin who heads UMSOM's animal-to-human transplant program