The leading transplantologist at the health ministry and the director of the Shumakov Center for Transplantology and Artificial Organs noted that two patients who died after a genetically modified pig heart transplant might have qualified for a conventional donor heart, and the reasons these cases did not progress to a standard transplant remain unclear. This assessment was expressed by academician and professor Sergei Gauthier.
Earlier reports indicated that a second patient who received a pig heart transplant in the United States died from organ rejection.
“The ethical dimension here begs careful questions: why were these two individuals selected for experimental procedures, and who made that decision? Doctors informed them that they were unlikely to survive a traditional heart operation. This reads as part of a broader narrative,” remarked the transplant specialist.
According to the expert, a fundamental rule in transplantation is that immunosuppressive therapy should be possible. When it cannot be, the patient faces a contraindication to transplant. This situation often occurs in cancer patients, where suppressing the immune system risks worsening the disease and overall prognosis.
“We do not have complete information about the second patient. If the goal is to sustain life for a patient with heart failure, the United States has substantial resources to mechanically support heart function. This is not hypothetical; it is a standard practice. The question becomes: if a patient, for example, has a mechanical support device implanted, why might they die from a pig graft rejection rather than continue to live with a functioning left ventricle?” Gauthier explained.
The professor believes that in developed nations there should be no death from rejection in this context. In healthcare systems like those in the United States, a heart transplant or reliable mechanical circulatory support should be feasible options when needed.
“I cannot advocate abandoning this line of inquiry. There is a need to pause, to study more deeply, to understand why these two patients died, and to analyze why the genetic modification did not yield the intended outcomes. The potential loss of life in pursuit of novelty is unacceptable. At minimum, alternatives should be explored to save lives,” the academician concluded.
Earlier statements from a former MIPT scientist, Bakumenko, noted that the direction of pig heart research is moving forward and holds potential for future breakthroughs.