Pig Heart Transplanted Into Maryland Man Had Virus: Hospital Officials

BALTIMORE, MD — The genetically modified heart transplanted into a Maryland man earlier this year was infected with a porcine virus, the University of Maryland Medical Center confirmed to Patch.

As a result, transplant specialists said it may have played a contributing factor in the death of David Bennett, the patient who received the world's first pig heart transplant in early January.

Deborah Kotz, a University of Maryland Medical Center spokesperson, told Patch on Thursday that the exact cause of Bennett's death is still being studied.

Dr. Bartley Griffith, who led the xenotransplant surgical team, recently presented preliminary findings at a scientific conference where he noted that research continues into various potential causes.

"Among these potential causes was the patient's advanced state of heart failure before the transplant. Dr. Griffith also noted that they found evidence of a virus called porcine cytomegalovirus (pCMV) through highly sensitive special testing," Kotz said. "There is no evidence that the virus caused an infection in the patient or infected any tissues or organs beyond the heart."

According to the hospital, the donor pig was raised in a facility using methods designed to prevent pCMV and other potential pathogens from infecting donor animals. The healthy donor pig used for the xenotransplant was screened for pathogens multiple times.

"It was tested just before shipment to Maryland, and just before the transplant a few days later. The testing followed protocols that were accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," Kotz told Patch.

"As plans move forward for future clinical trials, more sophisticated testing techniques are being developed and validated to ensure this virus does not go undetected," she continued.

While medical experts say all pigs are known to have the porcine endogenous retrovirus, researchers had not detected any transmission to humans or to non-human primates in earlier studies, the hospital said.

“Although the evidence is lacking, there is a definite concern of porcine pathogens causing disease in humans," Dr. Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, MD said a few days before the patient's death.

Several media outlets, including Newsweek, have reached out to Revivicor, the biotech company that raised the pig; however, they've yet to comment on the new information that has come to light.

SEE ALSO:

• Maryland Man Receives Heart From Genetically Altered Pig
• Pig Heart Recipient Alert, Making Progress At Maryland Hospital
• MD Man Who Received The World's First Pig Heart Transplant Dies

“It was surprising. That pig is supposed to be clean of all pig pathogens, and this is a significant one,” Mike Curtis, CEO of eGenesis, a competing company that is also breeding pigs for transplant organs told MIT Technology Review. “Without the virus, would Mr. Bennett have lived? We don’t know, but the infection didn’t help. It likely contributed to the failure.”

Bennett, who had terminal heart disease, made history as the first person to receive a genetically modified pig’s heart on Jan. 7.

Nearly four weeks after surgery, doctors were hopeful, describing Bennett as remarkably alert and talking. In fact, his new heart was beating so well at the time that they had to give him meds to slow it down, doctors sad.

However, shortly before his death on March 8, doctors said he began to deteriorate rapidly.

“He looked really funky,” Dr. Griffith said during an American Society of Transplantation webinar, according to the New York Post. “Something happened to him. He looked infected.”

While the landmark transplant did not go as planned, doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center said they remain optimistic and plan on continuing work in future clinical trials.

“As with any first-in-the-world transplant surgery, this one led to valuable insights that will hopefully inform transplant surgeons to improve outcomes and potentially provide lifesaving benefits to future patients," Dr. Griffith said following Bennett's death.