From pig to man: A groundbreaking moment for heart transplants

University of Maryland Medical Center surgeons show the genetically- modified pig heart before it is transplanted into Bennett during the operation. — Photos: University of Maryland School of Medicine/AFP

Physicians at the University of Maryland Medical Center in the United States stunned many people last week (January 2022) when they announced that they had successfully transplanted the heart of a pig into a 57-year-old man who was dying of a heart disorder.

It was the first successful attempt to place a pig’s heart into a human.