Lawrence Faucette, the second living person to receive a genetically modified pig heart in a transplant, has died six weeks after the experimental procedure.
The University of Maryland Medical Center, where the experimental procedure had been performed, said the heart began to show signs of rejection in recent days.
He then told the team of doctors and nurses who gathered around him that he loved us.
Faucette, 58, was first admitted to UMMC on September 14 after experiencing symptoms of heart failure and underwent the experimental transplant six days later.
His heart disease and pre-existing conditions made him ineligible for a traditional human heart transplant.
One month after his surgery, his doctors said they believed his heart function was excellent and had withdrawn any drugs to support his heart function.
A case study published in the Lancet also noted there was evidence of pig virus that had not been identified previously. »
