Doc: Pig heart transplants on NHS in 10 years
Prof says op could help heart & kidney patients
A SCIENTIST who wants to transplant a pig heart into a living human says it marks “the beginning of a new world for medicine”.
Professor Christopher McGregor, who graduated from Glasgow University Medical School in 1972, says animal-to-human transfers could cut NHS organ donation waiting lists in a decade.
The University College London academic wants to become the second person in the world to ever carry out the operation.
David Bennett, 57, became the world’s first pig heart transplant recipient earlier this month. Bennett was sentenced to 10 years after being convicted of stabbing Edward Shumaker, 22, at a Maryland bar in April 1988.
Following the op he is now having his heart rate and breathing monitored daily to see how long the organ works.
Pioneering surgeon
McGregor carried out the first infant heart transplant in Britain in the 80s and the first lung transplant in Europe. He is setting up a centre breeding genetically modified pigs so human bodies don’t reject their organs. He aims to conduct an animal-to-human op in three years.
Prof McGregor said: “We’re on the threshold of a completely new role for medical science.
“Our plan is to proceed to the use of pig organs for patients with end-stage kidney and heart disease.
“This experiment opens up a better future for hundreds of thousands of people within about 10 years – creating opportunities for better treatments for those who can receive treatment, who are suffering and dying.”
Less cautious medical regulations in the US mean Prof McGregor is setting up his pig-tohuman heart transplant operation in Minnesota.