The first person to get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig has died.
Man who got a heart transplant for a genetically-modified pig dies
David Bennett, who was suffering from terminal heart disease, survived for two months following the groundbreaking procedure.
Bennett's condition began to deteriorate several days ago and the 57-year-old passed away on Tuesday (08.03.22).
Surgeon Bartley Griffith, who performed the transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center, said: "He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end."
Bennett's son David Jr hopes that his father's transplant would "be the beginning of hope and not the end"
He said: "We are grateful for every innovative moment, every crazy dream, every sleepless night that went into this historic effort."
Bennett underwent the procedure on 7 January and knew the risks attached to the surgery as he described it as "a shot in the dark".
Medics were given special dispensation by the US medical regulator to perform the surgery on the basis that Bennett - who was ineligible for a human heart transplant - would have died otherwise.