Ethical Quandaries with Pig-Heart Transplants at the Crossroads

October 25, 2022

(Medscape) – Some lines of research yield breakthroughs before all ethical considerations have been fully worked out. That’s where heart xenotransplantation (XTx) is today. An emergency-use authorization in January of this year allowed a 57-year-old man with end-stage heart disease to successfully receive the heart of a genetically altered pig at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). The patient, Maryland resident David Bennett, lived for another 2 months. The historic XTx procedure, celebrated as a scientific milestone, had its share of hitches along with the triumphs that raise questions about next steps for this kind of research. Opinions differ, for example, on whether to continue with individual cases that lay groundwork for future trials, or to begin those trials right away. (Read More)