A man received a pig heart transplant: a month after the operation, he feels great

A month after an experimental operation to transplant a genetically modified pig's heart into a patient with end-stage heart disease, doctors say the organ is functioning independently and showing no signs of rejection. The publication told in more detail CNN.

Photo: IStock

In September, 58-year-old Lawrence Fawcett underwent surgery, which became the second in human history. Fawcett's heart defect and pre-existing conditions prevented him from undergoing a traditional human heart transplant.

“According to the attending physicians, his cardiac function is excellent,” said Dr. Bartley Griffith, director of the heart and lung transplant program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMMC), who performed the surgery. “He has no signs of infection and no signs of rejection at this time.”

Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, director of UMMC's cardiac xenotransplantation program, said in an update released Oct. 20, "We are taking off all the medications that initially supported his heart because it is now doing everything on its own."

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Mohiuddin said the focus now is on ensuring Fawcett has enough strength to carry out normal functions.

“We are working very hard with a team of physiotherapists who are devoting a lot of time to helping him regain the strength that he has lost over the last month of his stay in hospital,” Mohiuddin explained.

Footage released by UMMC shows Fawcett undergoing physical therapy, including cycling to improve his leg strength. When his physical therapist Chris Wells reminds him to keep smiling, he laughs and says, “That’s the hardest part!”

When he entered the clinic, Griffith said, “he honestly didn’t expect to ever be able to stand again.” Although Fawcett is not yet standing on his own, he can get out of bed with minimal assistance and doctors say they are at a "turning point."

Griffith said it was time to plan for the next phase of Fawcett's recovery and "think about where Larry will go next."

Fawcett, a father of two from Frederick, Maryland, is a 20-year Navy veteran who most recently worked as a laboratory technician at the National Institutes of Health.

Another thing UMMC talked about was how Fawcett reviewed images of his heart with doctors.

“It looks completely normal. And this is exactly what we wanted,” he admitted.

Fawcett was first admitted to UMMC on Sept. 14 with symptoms of heart failure. During his stay in the hospital, his heart stopped twice, and he was brought back to life only thanks to an automatic defibrillator installed in the ward.

“The only hope I have left is a pig heart transplant, a xenotransplantation,” Fawcett explained during an internal interview at the hospital a few days before the operation.

“We have no expectations other than the hope that we will spend more time together,” his wife Anne Fawcett said at the time. “We can just sit on the porch and drink coffee together.”

The experimental xenotransplantation procedure was approved under the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) compassionate use program. According to the agency, this program is “a potential pathway for a patient with a serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition to gain access to an investigational medical product (drug, biologic, or medical device) for treatment outside of a clinical trial when there are no comparable or satisfactory alternative treatment options.” "

The pig heart used was obtained from a genetically modified pig from Revivcor, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corporation. The pig had 10 genes edited, including three genes that were knocked out, or inactivated, to eliminate the alpha-gal sugar in the pig's blood cells, which can cause a severe reaction in the human immune system, leading to organ rejection. Another pig gene was modified to control the growth of the pig's heart, and six human genes were added to the pig's genome to improve its immune system acceptance. The FDA first approved genetically engineered pigs for potential therapeutic use in 2020.

Currently, there are no clinical trials using pig organs for transplantation into living humans.

Doctors treated Fawcett with an experimental antibody drug to further suppress the immune system and prevent rejection. The patient continues to be monitored for signs of rejection or development of swine-associated viruses. The donor animal was also carefully examined for any signs of viruses or pathogens.

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According to hospital officials, Fawcett fully consented to the experimental treatment and was informed of all the risks. He also underwent a full psychiatric examination and discussed his case with a medical ethicist.

Mohiuddin and Griffith created the country's first heart xenotransplantation research center and performed the first such experimental operation on 2022-year-old David Bennett in January 57. Bennett died two months after surgery.

Despite no signs of rejection in the first weeks after the transplant, an autopsy found that Bennett died of heart failure caused by a "complex set of factors," including Bennett's condition before surgery. Before the transplant, Bennett had already been hospitalized and was on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine for six weeks. However, a study conducted by doctors and published in the journal Lancet noted that there were signs of a swine virus that had not previously been identified.

According to the federal government, there are more than 113 people on the organ transplant list, including more than 3,3 people who need a heart right now. Every day, 17 people around the world die while waiting for an organ, according to the group Donate Life America.

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