Heart Transplant Month After Pig Man Works
WASHINGTON (Stubbyintl) — One month has passed since a Maryland resident became the second individual to undergo a groundbreaking heart transplant procedure utilizing a pig’s heart. Hospital footage, unveiled on Friday, highlights the patient’s dedicated efforts towards his recovery.
Lawrence Faucette faced a life-threatening Heart Transplant failure, and his health conditions rendered him ineligible for a conventional heart transplant. In a pioneering move, the medical team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine extended the offer of a highly experimental surgical procedure.
Offering the public the initial post-transplant view of Faucette since the procedure on September 20th, a hospital video captures the moment when physical therapist Chris Wells encourages him to smile during a strenuous pedaling exercise to rebuild his strength.
Faucette, 58, responded with determination despite breathing heavily and managed a smile, saying, “It’s going to be challenging, but I’ll overcome it.
Maryland Medical Team
In the previous year, the Maryland medical team achieved a groundbreaking milestone by conducting the world’s inaugural heart transplant from a genetically modified pig into a critically ill individual.
Regrettably, David Bennett, the recipient, only managed to survive for a mere two months before experiencing Heart Transplant failure, the precise cause of which remained somewhat unclear.
Subsequent examinations did, however, uncover indications of a pig virus within the transplanted organ. Valuable insights from this initial experiment prompted several modifications before embarking on the second attempt, which notably included enhanced virus screening protocols.
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Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin
Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin Efforts to achieve animal-to-human organ transplants, known as xenotransplants, have faced repeated setbacks over the years, primarily due to the immediate rejection of foreign tissue by the recipient’s immune systems. However, a renewed endeavor is currently underway, featuring genetically modified pigs designed to render their organs more closely resembling those of humans.
In the recent hospital video released on Friday, the medical team attending Faucette emphasized that there have been no indications of rejection concerning the pig heart.
Hospital Reported
Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, who leads the Maryland team’s cardiac xenotransplantation efforts, stated, “His Heart Transplant is functioning independently and without any signs of rejection.
A spokesperson from the hospital reported that Lawrence Faucette, hailing from Frederick, Maryland, has progressed to the point where he can stand, and physical therapists are actively assisting him in building the necessary strength for his upcoming walking endeavors.
Organ Transplants
Numerous researchers are optimistic that xenotrans plants may eventually solve the significant scarcity of human organ donations. In the United States, over 100,000 individuals are currently on the waiting list for organ transplants, with the majority in need of kidneys. Tragically, thousands of individuals lose their lives while awaiting these life-saving procedures.
Several scientific groups have conducted experiments involving pig kidneys and hearts, both in non-human primates and in human cadaveric organ recipients.
Their goal is to acquire sufficient knowledge to pave the way for formal xenotransplant studies sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration.