Posted on 05/05/22
| News Source: Pikesville Patch
The genetically modified heart transplanted into a Maryland man earlier this year was infected with a porcine virus, the University of Maryland Medicine confirmed to Patch.
As a result, transplant specialists said it may have played a contributing factor in the death of David Bennett, the patient who received the world's first pig heart transplant in early January.
"Infectious disease complications are always a concern in the field of organ transplantation, whether it is infections related to the recipient or the donor, which in this case remarkably happens to be a pig," said Dr. Kapil Saharia, MD, MPH, on the University of Maryland Medicine's website.
Meanwhile, Deborah Kotz, a Univerisity of Maryland Medicine spokesperson, told Patch on Thursday that the exact cause of Bennett's death is still being studied.
Dr. Bartley Griffith, who led the xenotransplant surgical team, recently presented preliminary findings at a scientific conference where he noted that research continues into various potential causes.