Lawrence Faucette, the second man to receive a pig's heart in a transplant died on October 30. Faucette was a Navy veteran and retired lab technician at the National Institutes of Health. He survived for 40 days after a highly experimental surgery.
''Mr. Faucette had made significant progress after his surgery, engaging in physical therapy, spending time with family members, and playing cards with his wife, Ann. In recent days, his heart began to show initial signs of rejection --the most significant challenge with traditional transplants involving human organs as well. Despite the medical team's greatest efforts, Mr. Faucette ultimately succumbed on October 30,'' a statement released by the hospital said, AP reported.
David Bennet was the first person to receive a genetically engineered pig heart in a procedure in January 2022. He died of sudden heart failure in March 2022. in the case of Bennet, the Lancet observed that there was evidence of the presence of a pig virus, which wasn't identified previously.
“Mr. Faucette’s last wish was for us to make the most of what we have learned from our experience, so others may be guaranteed a chance for a new heart when a human organ is unavailable. He then told the team of doctors and nurses who gathered around him that he loved us. We will miss him tremendously,” Dr Bartley Griffith, clinical director of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, who had performed the surgery said, CNN reported.
Faucette was initially admitted to the University of Maryland Medical Centre on September 14 after experiencing symptoms of heart failure. He was ineligible for a traditional human heart transplant owing to his pre-existing medical conditions and his heart disease. His wife, Ann, at the time, had said that the couple had no other expectations, other than “hoping for more time together.”
A month after the surgery, the doctors stopped medication to support his heart function as they believed that his heart function was excellent.
