Eric Adler, MD, cardiologist and director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support.
Victor Pretorius, MBchB, transplant surgeon and surgical director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support.
The first pig-to-human heart transplant, reported yesterday in the New York Times, is a watershed moment in medicine that may pave the way to using animal organs for human transplantation.
Performed January 7, 2022 at University of Maryland School of Medicine, the eight-hour surgery placed a genetically modified pig’s heart into the chest cavity of a 57-year-old man with life-threatening heart disease. The heart was modified to resist rejection by the human immune system.
The medical achievement offers hope to hundreds of thousands of patients with failing organs, of which approximately a dozen die on waiting lists every day. (Though 3,817 Americans received human donor hearts last year — more than 80 at UC San Diego Health alone — demand greatly exceeds supply.)
The following UC San Diego Health transplant experts are available to answer questions:
- Eric Adler, MD, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and medical director of the heart transplant program and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health
- Victor Pretorius, MBChB, surgical director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support at UC San Diego Health
Topics of Discussion:
- In what ways is this milestone important?
- How many lives can this save each year?
- How was the heart genetically modified and what made this difficult or impossible until now?
- Could this solve all donor organ shortages one day?
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Credit: UC San Diego Health Sciences
Caption: Eric Adler, MD, cardiologist and director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support.
Credit: UC San Diego Health Sciences
Caption: Victor Pretorius, MBchB, transplant surgeon and surgical director of cardiac transplant and mechanical circulatory support.
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