David Bennett Sr.
David Bennett Sr. (1964 - March 8, 2022) was an American man who became the first patient to undergo a xenotransplantation of a genetically modified pig heart. On January 7, 2022, aged 57, he received the heart of a gene-edited pig and lived for about two months after the procedure.
Early life
Bennett served a prison sentence for stabbing 22-year-old Edward Shumaker in 1988. Shumaker was left paralyzed from the stabbing and spent 19 years in a wheelchair. Bennett was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in which he served 6. Shumaker died in 2007 after having a stroke two years prior.
Transplant
On January 7, 2022, a team led by cardiothoracic surgeon Bartley P. Griffith at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, replaced Bennett's heart with the heart of a genetically modified pig that had undergone specific gene editing to remove enzymes responsible for producing sugar antigens that would lead to hyperacute organ rejection in humans. Bennett was ineligible for a standard human heart transplant or a heart pump due to his health conditions with heart failure and an irregular heartbeat. Bennett was granted emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration to receive the surgery under compassionate-use criteria in a last-ditch effort to treat end-stage heart disease.
The transplant was the first heart to be taken from a genetically modified pig. The genetic modification was carried out by Revivicor: three genes that trigger attacks from the human immune system were excised, and six human genes were added to help the body to accept the organ. A tenth modification was designed to prevent the heart from responding to growth hormones, so that the pig heart will remain human-sized after the transplant. A brain-dead patient had received a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig in 2021.
Death
Bennett died at the University of Maryland Medical Center on March 8, 2022, at the age of 57. While being able to spend time with family, his health deteriorated days before his death. Griffith said that he was "devastated" from his loss.
Early life
Bennett served a prison sentence for stabbing 22-year-old Edward Shumaker in 1988. Shumaker was left paralyzed from the stabbing and spent 19 years in a wheelchair. Bennett was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in which he served 6. Shumaker died in 2007 after having a stroke two years prior.
Transplant
On January 7, 2022, a team led by cardiothoracic surgeon Bartley P. Griffith at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, replaced Bennett's heart with the heart of a genetically modified pig that had undergone specific gene editing to remove enzymes responsible for producing sugar antigens that would lead to hyperacute organ rejection in humans. Bennett was ineligible for a standard human heart transplant or a heart pump due to his health conditions with heart failure and an irregular heartbeat. Bennett was granted emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration to receive the surgery under compassionate-use criteria in a last-ditch effort to treat end-stage heart disease.
The transplant was the first heart to be taken from a genetically modified pig. The genetic modification was carried out by Revivicor: three genes that trigger attacks from the human immune system were excised, and six human genes were added to help the body to accept the organ. A tenth modification was designed to prevent the heart from responding to growth hormones, so that the pig heart will remain human-sized after the transplant. A brain-dead patient had received a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig in 2021.
Death
Bennett died at the University of Maryland Medical Center on March 8, 2022, at the age of 57. While being able to spend time with family, his health deteriorated days before his death. Griffith said that he was "devastated" from his loss.
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