Lawrence Faucette Died, Man who Received Second Pig Heart Transplant Dies in Maryland Hospital
Lawrence Faucette Obituary: Lawrence Faucette, 58, was dying from heart failure and ineligible for a traditional heart transplant when he received the genetically modified pig heart on September 20.
The heart had seemed healthy for the first month, according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, but started to show signs of rejection in recent days.
Mr. Faucette’s wife, Ann, said her husband “knew his time with us was short and this was his last chance to do for others”.
She added in a hospital statement, “He never imagined he would survive as long as he did.”
The Maryland team performed the first ever pig heart transplant in Baltimore last year.
David Bennett survived for two months before his heart failed. Why it failed was not completely clear, but signs of a pig virus were found later inside the organ.
The transplant team made changes, including better virus testing, before the second experiment.
“Mr. Faucette’s last wish was for us to make the most of what we have learned from our experience,” Dr Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who led the transplant, said in a statement.
The team will analyse what happened with the heart as they continue studying pig organs, cardiac xenotransplant chief Dr Muhammad Mohiuddin added.