He is the second man to receive a pig’s heart. The first was David Bennett in January of 2022, also at the same medical centre.
In a research paper that described the first transplant, they demonstrated that the pig heart functioned well in the patient for several weeks with no signs of acute rejection.
His death from heart failure was likely caused by a multitude of factors including his poor state of health that left him hospitalized on a heart-lung bypass machine for six weeks prior to the transplant, the report said.
Faucette is a 58-year-old patient with terminal heart disease.. He is recovering and communicating with his loved ones. According to reports, he is said to be stable and doing well after the operation on Sept. 20.
Faucette was deemed ineligible for a traditional transplant with a human heart due to his pre-existing peripheral vascular disease and complications with internal bleeding.
“My only real hope left is to go with the pig heart, the xenotransplant,” said Mr. Faucette, who lives at Frederick, Maryland. “Dr. Bartley Griffith, Dr. Nuhammad Mohiuddin and their entire staff have been incredible, but nobody knows from this point forward. At least now I have hope, and I have a chance."
United Therapeutics has funded a $22 million research program to test their genetically-modified pig hearts from Revivicor in baboon studies conducted at UMSOM.
Three genes — responsible for a rapid antibody-mediated rejection of pig organs by humans — were “knocked out” in the donor pig. Six human genes responsible for immune acceptance of the pig heart were inserted into the genome. One additional gene in the pig was knocked out to prevent excessive growth of the pig heart tissue, for a total of 10 unique gene edits made in the donor pig.
United Therapeutics Corporation, through its xenotransplantation subsidiary Revivicor, based in Blacksburg, VA, provided the genetically-modified pig to the xenotransplantation laboratory at UMSOM.
