Researchers say pig heart who transplanted on David Bennett (57) in January was infected with the virus.
Bennett was pronounced dead two months after the transplant operation. Bennett was the first human to perform a heart transplant from a pig.
On March 8, Bennett died for no apparent reason at the University of Maryland Medical Center after his condition worsened over the past few days.
In the early days after getting a heart transplant, Bennett’s condition was quite good and his new heart was working quite normally.
But after two months, Bennett’s condition began to deteriorate and eventually made him die.
In a report on Wednesday (4/5), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review suspected that Bennett’s heart was infected with a swine virus called porcine cytomegalovirus, which could adversely affect the transplant.
“We’re starting to study why he died,” said University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) transplant surgeon Bartley Griffith. The Independent.
“[Virus] maybe it was the actor, or it could be the actor, that triggered all of this.”
The pork heart used on Bennett was made by the biotechnology company Revvicor, which alters some of the genetic code to reduce the effects of transplant rejection.
In early March, scientists had emphasized the importance of a disease-free environment as part of efforts to reduce the risk of infection. In addition, donor pigs also need to be examined for pig pathogens before being brought to the laboratory.
“Although evidence is lacking, there is definite concern about pig pathogens causing disease in humans,” Muhammad M Mohiuddin, Professor of Surgery at UMSOM, said in March.
If a virus is indeed the cause of Bennet’s death, it means future transplants will require better screening processes to ensure the organs are infection-free.
Bennett was ineligible for a human organ donor after being convicted of stabbing a man in 1988.
Bennett left the victim paralyzed and required to use a wheelchair before dying in 2005.
(lom / fea)
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