US man who got 1st pig heart transplant dies after 2 months

(AP) - A Maryland hospital says the first person to receive a heart transplant from a pig has died.

The University of Maryland Medical Center announced that the 57-year-old man died Tuesday, two months after the groundbreaking experiment. Doctors for decades have sought to use animal organs for life-saving transplants.

David Bennett was a candidate for the dramatic attempt only because he was dying and wasn't eligible for a human heart transplant.

Prior attempts at such transplants have failed largely because patients’ bodies rapidly rejected the animal organ.

This time, the Maryland surgeons used a heart from a gene-edited pig to help prevent rejection.