Health
Pig heart transplanted into human patient for the second time
Surgeons have transplanted a pig’s heart into a dying man in a bid to prolong his life – only the second patient to ever undergo such an experimental feat. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday.
The 58-year-old Navy veteran was facing near-certain death from heart failure but other health problems meant he wasn’t eligible for a traditional heart transplant, according to doctors at University of Maryland Medicine, the Associated Press reported.
“Nobody knows from this point forward. At least now I have hope and I have a chance,” Lawrence Faucette, from Frederick, Maryland, said in a video recorded by the hospital before Wednesday’s operation. “I will fight tooth and nail for every breath I can take.”
While the next few weeks will be critical, doctors were thrilled at Faucette’s early response to the pig organ.
“You know, I just keep shaking my head – how am I talking to someone who has a pig heart?” Dr. Bartley Griffith, who performed the transplant, told The Associated Press. He said doctors are feeling “a great privilege but, you know, a lot of pressure.”
The same Maryland team last year performed the world’s first transplanet of a genetically modified pig heart into another dying man, David Bennett, who survived just two months.
There’s a huge shortage of human organs donated for transplant. Last year, there were just over 4,100 heart transplants in the U.S., a record number but the supply is so tight that only patients with the best chance of long-term survival get offered one.
Attempts at animal-to-human organ transplants have failed for decades, as people’s immune systems immediately destroyed the foreign tissue. Now scientists are trying again using pigs genetically modified to make their organs more humanlike.
Recently, scientists at other hospitals have tested pig kidneys and hearts in donated human bodies, hoping to learn enough to begin formal studies of what are called xenotransplants.
To make this new attempt in a living patient outside of a rigorous trial, the Maryland researchers required special permission from the Food and Drug Administration, under a process reserved for certain emergency cases with no other options.
It took over 300 pages of documents filed with FDA, but the Maryland researchers made their case that they’d learned enough from their first attempt last year – even though that patient died for reasons that aren’t fully understood – that it made sense to try again.
And Faucette, who retired as a lab technician at the National Institutes of Health, had to agree that he understood the procedure’s risks.
In a statement his wife, Ann Faucette, said: “We have no expectations other than hoping for more time together. That could be as simple as sitting on the front porch and having coffee together.”
What’s different this time: Only after last year’s transplant did scientists discover signs of a pig virus lurking inside the heart – and they now have better tests to look for hidden viruses. They also made some medication changes.
Possibly more important, while Faucette has end-stage heart failure and was out of other options, he wasn’t as near death as the prior patient.
By Friday, his new heart was functioning well without any supportive machinery, the hospital said.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to see this pig heart work in a human,” said Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, the Maryland team’s xenotransplantation expert. But, he cautioned, “we don’t want to predict anything. We will take every day as a victory and move forward.”
This kind of single-patient “compassionate use” can provide some information about how the pig organ works but not nearly as much as more formal testing, said Karen Maschke, a research scholar at the Hastings Center who is helping develop ethics and policy recommendations for xenotransplant clinical trials. That FDA allowed this second case “suggests that the agency is not ready to permit a pig heart clinical trial to start,” Mashke added.
The pig heart, provided by Blacksburg, Virginia-based Revivicor, has 10 genetic modifications – knocking out some pig genes and adding some human ones to make it more acceptable to the human immune system.
Since the launch of the new Afghan visa module in April 2025, more than 500 visas, including over 200 medical visas, have been issued in the last four months, Indian media reported citing a senior Health Ministry official on Thursday.
India has also approved and implemented several key healthcare infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including the construction of five maternity and health clinics in the provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, a 30-bed hospital in Kabul, and the construction or upgradation of major facilities such as an Oncology Centre, Trauma Centre, Diagnostic Centre and Thalassemia Centre in Kabul, The Hindu newspaper reported. Additional proposals for health sector support are currently under active consideration.
On Thursday, India reaffirmed its continued commitment to supporting Afghanistan’s health sector and humanitarian needs during a meeting held between Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda and Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health Noor Jalal Jalali.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed ongoing health cooperation and discussed avenues to further strengthen collaboration in healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies and capacity building.
The Union Minister underlined that guided by India’s long-standing people-centric approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always emphasised that India’s engagement with Afghanistan should remain focused on welfare, capacity building and access to critical healthcare services.
Nadda added that India’s assistance to Afghanistan remains guided by humanitarian considerations and the long-standing bonds between the peoples of the two countries.
“India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the past four years. Cancer medicines and one CT scan machine, as requested by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, are ready for dispatch and will be delivered by the end of this month. Proposals from the Afghan side for a radiotherapy machine and additional medical supplies are also being processed,” he said.
The meeting also discussed capacity-building initiatives. India is working on modalities to send a team of senior Indian doctors to Afghanistan to organise a medical camp and provide training to Afghan doctors.
“At the meeting, India has reiterated its commitment to providing free treatment in India to Afghan patients suffering from emergency and serious ailments, and to facilitating medical visas,” said an Indian Health Ministry official.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Noor Jalal Jalali, has called for India’s cooperation in the standardization and development of traditional medicine during a meeting with India’s Minister for Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Prataprao Jadhav.
The meeting focused on establishing a traditional medicine institute and a research center in Kabul, cooperation in training qualified professionals, and the signing of a bilateral memorandum of understanding. Minister Jalali stressed that standardizing traditional medicine is a pressing priority for Afghanistan and noted that India’s extensive expertise in this field would be highly beneficial.
For his part, the AYUSH minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to supporting Afghanistan by assisting in the establishment of a research center and institute in Kabul, developing and implementing academic curricula, and expanding cooperation across various areas related to traditional medicine.
Noor Jalal Jalali, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan, held a meeting in Kabul with representatives of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and other international organizations.
According to the ministry’s statement, representatives of these international organizations discussed the delivery of health and development services, improving the management of aid and resources in the health sector, integrating health facilities and aligning them with the new policy, providing health services in accordance with the Ministry of Public Health’s policy, strengthening the immunization and vaccination sector, delivering services based on priorities, and ensuring sustained coordination.
During the meeting, Jalali stressed the need for transparency and attention to the ministry’s priorities in order to enhance the effectiveness and impact of health services. He added that the delivery of health services must be carried out in line with the ministry’s policy and through better management of existing international assistance.
Referring to vaccination campaigns, he stated that the recent measles and polio vaccination campaign had been implemented very successfully, and emphasized that necessary preparations should be made for upcoming campaigns.
He also provided information regarding the review of the BPHS and EPHS health packages and the establishment of a standardized system through technical committees.
In this meeting, Edwin Ceniza, the WHO Representative for Afghanistan, reaffirmed the organization’s continued cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and expressed appreciation to the ministry’s leadership for their tireless efforts to improve the health system.
Representatives of these organizations pledged to maintain effective and sustained coordination and to provide their services within the country in accordance with the policies and principles of the Ministry of Public Health.
India issues over 200 medical visas to Afghans in last four months
Dozens of U.S. lawmakers oppose Afghan immigration freeze after Washington shooting
Magnitude 5.3 earthquake strikes Afghanistan – USGS
Chairman of US House intel panel criticizes Afghan evacuation vetting process
EU leaders agree joint borrowing to fund Ukraine, setting aside plan to use Russian frozen assets
Afghanistan U19 cricket team defeats India A U19
Afghanistan economy under pressure as Pakistan shocks reshape trade flows
Gaza death toll tops 70,000, health ministry says
India set to establish pharmaceutical factories in Afghanistan: MoIC
Afghanistan offers tax breaks, free land to attract Indian investors
Tahawol: Global concerns over migration escalation discussed
Saar: Calls for Afghanistan’s balanced, economy-oriented foreign policy discussed
Tahawol: Discussion on regional countries’ meetings on Afghanistan
Saar: Regional efforts to address Afghanistan-Pakistan issues discussed
Tahawol: Officials say interactions must be based on realities
-
Latest News4 days agoGermany speeds up admission of Afghans from Pakistan
-
Sport4 days agoIPL 2026 Auction set for Abu Dhabi with $28.6 million purse at stake
-
Business5 days agoAfghan economy posts second year of growth despite deep structural challenges
-
Latest News4 days agoAfghanistan to establish independent oil and gas authority
-
Sport5 days agoATN to broadcast ‘The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025’
-
Latest News4 days agoUS intelligence chief warns of ‘direct threat’ from suspected terrorists inside the country
-
Latest News3 days agoIEA supreme leader stresses enforcement of Sharia law and sincere public service
-
International Sports4 days agoILT20: Desert Vipers qualify for playoffs with five-wicket win over Dubai Capitals