Patient in Groundbreaking Heart Transplant Dies

Hospital officials said they could no longer comment on the cause of death as doctors had not yet conducted a thorough examination. They plan to publish the results in a peer-reviewed medical journal.“He was a brave and honorable patient who fought to the end,” said Dr. Griffith. “Mr. Bennett has become known to millions of people around the world for his courage and unwavering will to live.”

 A process called xenotransplantation is giving new hope to tens of thousands of patients with diseased kidneys, hearts, and other organs as there is a severe shortage of donor organs.

Mr. Bennet’s transplant was initially considered a success. This is still considered a significant step forward because the porcine heart did not immediately reject and continued to function for more than a month, passing a critical milestone for transplant patients. About 41,354 Americans received organs last year, more than half of the kidneys, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a non-profit organization that coordinates the nation’s organ procurement efforts.

• But there is a severe shortage of organs, and every day a dozen or more people on the waiting list die. About 3,800 Americans received replacement hearts last year, more than ever before, but demand remains strong.
• In October, New York surgeons announced that they had successfully attached a kidney grown from a genetically modified pig to a brain-dead patient, finding that the organ worked normally and produced urine within 54 hours.
• In January, surgeons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported that they had successfully transplanted kidneys from a genetically engineered pig into the abdomen of a 57-year-old brain-dead man for the first time. The kidneys functioned and produced urine for three days.
• UAB surgeons said they hope to start a small clinical trial in living people by the end of the year.
• Shortly after Mr. Bennett’s heart surgery in January The Washington Post said he had a criminal record in an attack 34 years ago in which he repeatedly stabbed a young man in a fit of jealousy, leaving him paralyzed.

According to his sister, Leslie Shoemaker Downey, the victim, Edward Shoemaker,

 Frederick, Maryland. Mr. Bennett’s son, David Bennet Jr., who was a child at the time of the stabbing, said he did not want to discuss his father’s past and emphasized that his father had contributed to medical science by undergoing experimental transplantation and hoped to “potentially save the lives of patients in the future.”

The heart given to Mr. Bennett came from a genetically modified pig provided by Revivicor,

A regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia. The pig carried 10 genetic modifications.

On New Year’s Eve, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency clearance for the experimental operation,

Which was carried out a week later. The transplanted heart initially functioned well and there were no signs of rejection for several weeks. According to hospital staff, Mr. Bennett spent time with his family, doing physical therapy and watching the Super Bowl. But he was not discharged, and a few days ago his condition began to deteriorate, the hospital said. His son issued a statement thanking the hospital and staff for their tireless efforts on behalf of his father. “We hope this story can be the beginning of hope, not the end,” Mr. Bennett said. “We also hope that what we have learned from his operation will benefit future patients and hopefully one day end the organ shortage that claims so many lives every year.”