Dubbed as the first of its kind, some US surgeons claimed to have successfully transplanted a pig heart into a 57-year-old human being.
The Maryland resident with terminal heart disease received a successful transplant of a genetically-modified pig heart and is said to be still doing well three days later, ZEE news reported.
"It was the only currently available option for the patient," the University of Maryland Medicine said after performing the historic surgery.
"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," the University said in a statement.
The patient, David Bennett, is currently being monitored over the next days and weeks to determine whether the transplant provides lifesaving benefits.
"It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," Bennett, who had been hospitalized and bedridden for the past few months, said before the surgery.
Bartley P Griffith, MD, who surgically transplanted the pig heart, said that this was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis.
"We are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this first-in-the-world surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future," Griffith said.
