Lawrence Faucette Dies After Receiving Genetically Modified Pig Heart Transplant

Lawrence Faucette, 58, has died nearly six weeks after receiving a genetically modified pig heart transplant, his Maryland doctors announced Tuesday. Faucette was dying from heart failure and ineligible for a traditional heart transplant when he received the experimental surgery on September 20th.

According to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the heart had seemed healthy for the first month but began showing signs of rejection in recent days. In a statement released by the hospital, Faucette’s wife, Ann, said her husband “knew his time with us was short and this was his last chance to do for others.”

Faucette was the second person to receive a transplanted heart from a pig. The Maryland team last year performed the world’s first such transplant, on a patient who died a month later. The team had hoped to use the transplants to help patients who are too sick to receive a human heart transplant.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine said it will continue to study the procedure and its potential to help patients with end-stage heart failure. The hospital said it will use the data from Faucette’s case to “help us understand the potential of this technology and how to improve outcomes for future patients.”

The hospital also expressed its condolences to Faucette’s family and friends, saying “we are deeply saddened by the loss of Lawrence and our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”