World / US surgeons successfully implant pig heart in human hisoric transplant in world

Surgeons in the US have successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a 57-year-old man. This has happened for the first time in medical history and this can help in tackling the huge shortage of organ donors in the times to come. The University of Maryland Medical School issued a statement saying that this historic transplant was done on Friday.

Although, even after this transplant, the cure of the patient's disease is not certain at present, but this surgery cannot be said to be less than a milestone regarding the transplant from animals to humans.

Due to many serious diseases and poor health in a patient named David Bennett, a human heart could not be transplanted. Now patients are recovering and doctors are closely watching how the pig's heart is working in their bodies. David, a Maryland resident, says, 'I had only two options, either to die or to get this transplant done. I want to live I know it is like shooting an arrow in the dark, but it is my last choice. Bennett, who had been bedridden on a heart-lung bypass machine for the past several months, said, 'I look forward to getting out of bed after I recover.'

On New Year's Eve, the US Food and Drug Administration approved this emergency transplant as a last-ditch effort in case a traditional transplant is not possible. Dr Bartley Griffith, who surgically transplanted the pig's heart, said: "It was a successful surgery and has taken us one step closer to solving the problem of organ shortage."