UM Medicine Performs Historic Transplantation
To address the organ shortage, Íøºì±¬ÁÏ Medical Center (UMMC) researchers are participating in several examining the use of genetically engineered animal organs for human transplantation. In a first-of-its-kind surgery, a 57-year-old patient with terminal heart disease received a successful transplant of a genetically modified pig heart. The xenotransplant was the only currently available option for the patient. The historic surgery was conducted by Íøºì±¬ÁÏ School of Medicine faculty at UMMC. This organ transplant demonstrated for the first time that a genetically modified animal heart can function like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body.
In this image: Bartley P. Griffith, MD, and patient David Bennett