The recipient of a pig heart in lieu of a human organ David Bennett died last March two months after undergoing the historic procedure. The cause of his death was not announced at the time but the latest report from the MIT Technology Review claimed it was due to an organ he received being infected with a deadly swine virus.
The porcine cytomegalovirus virus causes pig organs to fail in baboons undergoing the same procedure. On average the organ received by a baboon is able to survive for 6 months if it is free from the porcine cytomegalovirus virus. It will fail earlier if infected with a virus. The absence of the pig's immune system in the organ recipient's body to fight the virus is one of the reasons for this.
Based on what happened to the baboon, the MIT Technology Review believes the same thing happened to David Bennett. Therefore, screening of pig organs should be done to ensure that the same procedure is performed more safely in the future.
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