This operation, a pioneer in the field of medicine, has been carried out by a team of surgeons from the University of Maryland (USA). In it, the patient, David Bennett, 57, diagnosed with heart disease without treatment options through an ordinary transplant, received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig. This achievement constitutes an unprecedented milestone in the field of medicine and opens new avenues for the treatment of patients with similar complications.

Regarding the genetic modification process, the pig’s heart underwent a genomic editing process through which a specific sugar was eliminated, the cells of which directly impeded the assimilation process of these organs by the human body. This option was the only alternative for the patient, due to the refusal of multiple hospitals to perform a conventional transplant.

Although it is still too early to be able to affirm that this procedure has contributed to increasing the life of the patient, since it is still under observation, the operation represents a glimmer of hope for many patients who suffer from the shortage in the availability of organs for transplantation in everyone.