COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — A man from the U.S. has become the first person to get a heart transplant from a pig, according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine. <br /> <br /> <br />The pig used for the transplant was genetically modified to remove a gene that produces a sugar which in turn triggers an immune response in humans. <br /> <br /> <br />The surgeon who performed the surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center said the patient’s condition — heart failure and an irregular heartbeat — meant he was not eligible for either a human heart transplant or a heart pump, according to The Guardian. <br /> <br /> <br />On Monday, the patient was reported to be breathing on his own while being monitored, though his surgeon, Bartley Griffith, said that exactly what will happen next is unclear. <br /> <br /> <br />Last October, surgeons in New York said they had successfully transplanted a pig's kidney into a person, but in that instance the recipient was already brain dead. <br /> <br /> <br />Though the heart has been genetically modified, and the patient has already passed the ‘hyperacute rejection phase,’ a further treatment plan has been designed to work against upcoming immune responses. <br /> <br />
