Breakthrough: Successful Second Transplant of Genetically Modified Pig's Heart

Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center have successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a second patient with terminal heart disease. The first patient who received a pig heart died after two months, but the organ functioned well with no signs of acute organ rejection. The second patient, a Navy veteran, underwent the transplant surgery and is currently recovering well. The procedure offers hope to those facing a shortage of human donor organs, although it is still in the early stages of development. The pig heart used in the transplant underwent genetic modifications to reduce the risk of rejection by the human immune system.