February 1, 2022

To address the organ shortage, University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) researchers are participating in several preclinical models examining the use of genetically engineered animal organs for human transplantation. In a first-of-its-kind surgery, a 57-year-old patient with terminal heart disease received a successful transplant of a genetically modified pig heart. The xenotransplant was the only currently available option for the patient. The historic surgery was conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty at UMMC. 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.

Learn more here.

In this image: Bartley P. Griffith, MD, and patient David Bennett