The second man ever to receive a genetically modified onion heart has died, six weeks after American surgeons performed the second such historic transplant, doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) announced Wednesday.
Lawrence Faucette, 58, who suffers from terminal heart disease, was the second patient in the world to receive a genetically modified pig heart on September 20.
Doctors said in a statement that Faucette has made significant progress since the surgery. His transplanted heart worked well and he had no symptoms of rejection in the first month and also underwent physical therapy to regain his ability to walk.
But "in recent days, his heart began to show the first signs of rejection, the most significant challenge in traditional human organ transplants," the doctors said in a statement.
Despite the best efforts and best efforts of the medical team, Faucette eventually died on October 30.

"Faucette's's last wish was that we make the most of what we have learned from our experience to ensure that others have the option of a new heart when a human organ is not available," said Bartley P. Griffith , MD. . who surgically transplanted pig hearts into both the first and second patients at the hospital, the statement said.
Moreover, the first such operation, performed by the same surgeons in January 2022 on David Bennett, also died last year, two months after his transplant. He developed several complications and his new heart was found to contain traces of the virus that infects pigs.

"We plan to conduct a large-scale analysis to identify factors that can be prevented in future transplants. This will allow us to move forward and educate our colleagues from our experience," said Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, professor of surgery and scientific/program director of UMSOM's cardiac xenotransplantation program.