Surgeons from the University of Maryland School of Medicine have shared their analysis of the second patient in the world to receive a genetically modified pig organ.
Lawrence Faucette, 58, received a pig heart at the University of Maryland Medical Center in 2023 to treat his end-stage heart failure. He lived for 40 days before choosing to forgo additional treatment after the transplant began to fail due to rejection.
The report documents lessons learned from Mr. Faucette’s experience as the world’s second xeno heart transplant recipient.
The paper was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
It documents the initial signs of rejection of the 10 gene-edited pig hearts on the first biopsy, which was taken about two weeks after the surgery. It also provides important lessons learned and potential new pathways forward as xenotransplant surgeons prepare for upcoming clinical trials in the years ahead.
Through their investigation, the study authors determined that this case underscores the need for continued research to overcome challenges such as antibody-mediated rejection.
Despite selecting a patient with low pre-existing anti-pig antibodies, the transplant team found a surge in these antibodies, which caused damage to the heart and ultimately led to graft failure.
Further transplants may require more aggressive depletion and suppression of these antibodies. These investigations further elaborated on the influence of other immune-mediated mechanisms in graft failure.
At the time of the second milestone procedure, Dr Bartley P Griffith, the surgeon behind both pig heart transplants, emphasised its significance, saying: ‘We are once again offering a dying patient a shot at a longer life, and we are incredibly grateful to Mr Faucette for his bravery and willingness to help advance our knowledge of this field.’
In light of this recent analysis, Dr Muhammad M. Mohiuddin who co-led the procedure with Dr Griffith, said: ‘We have taken another important step forward in the quest to address the global shortage of donor hearts, and we once again found that the porcine heart demonstrated excellent systolic and diastolic function during the initial weeks post-transplantation.’
Dr Griffith added: ‘Thanks to the bravery of Mr Faucette and his loving family, we have a clearer understanding of modifications we can make moving forward to achieve longer-term success.’
