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Pig heart saves man - 28th January 2022

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical School have saved a man's life by using the heart of a pig. 

This is great news for medicine. There is a lack of organs for people who need them. People hope pig organs will be the solution. 

Dr Bartley Griffith did the surgery. 

Bartley Griffith: "The driver for all this was to provide an opportunity for patients with end-stage heart disease, who could not either qualify or just didn't get a heart in time, to treat their pretty poor heart function with a transplant."

57 year old David Bennett had poor health. He couldn't receive a human heart. Now, he's getting better but doctors are still watching to make sure everything is OK. 

Muhammad Mohiuddin is a director at the Medical School. He's excited about the results.

Muhammad Mohiuddin: "We are all very excited to see this pig heart beating in this human. That pig heart has performed so far very well even beyond our expectations. We have not seen any signs of rejection."

Scientists made some changes to the pig's heart. They removed four genes and added 6 human genes. They wanted the heart to work perfectly in the human body. This is called gene editing. 

Pigs' organs are perfect for humans because they grow fast and are a good size.

Muhammad Mohiuddin is excited about the new development. He thinks animal organs will help save thousands of humans who need them. 

Muhammad Mohiuddin: "We'll have these organs available, we can, you know, we have the technique of genetically modifying. So, if there's more tweaking required for modifying the genes, we will be able to do that, and you know, can customise, basically, the heart for all the organs for the patient."