The World's First Man to Receive a Pig Heart Transplant Was a Heinous Criminal Who Stabbed His High School Classmate

Victims' Families Angry: "Heart Should Have Gone to Qualified Person"
World's First Transplant of Genetically Modified Pig Heart
Currently Recovering Health Without Significant Rejection Reaction

David Bennett (right), a 57-year-old man recovering after receiving a pig heart transplant, is taking a 'selfie' with his attending physician Bartley Griffith (left). / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has come as a shock that the patient who received the world's first genetically modified pig heart transplant was revealed to have committed a heinous crime in the past. The patient is reported to be recovering in a stable condition after the surgery.

Local media such as The Washington Post (WP) and The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 13th (local time) that David Bennett (57), who received a genetically modified pig heart transplant at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, was convicted of stabbing Edward Shoemaker nine times with a weapon in the past.

The incident reportedly occurred 34 years ago in 1988. At the time, Bennett stabbed Shoemaker, a high school classmate, nine times with a weapon while talking with his wife. Shoemaker was only 22 years old at the time.

As a result of the incident, Shoemaker was confined to a wheelchair for life and reportedly died in 2007. Bennett was acquitted of serious charges such as attempted intentional murder in court but was found guilty of violence and concealment and possession of a weapon, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Shoemaker's family expressed their anger through local media. Shoemaker's sister said, "When I heard the news about the pig heart transplant, I thought it was a groundbreaking scientific achievement, but I was shocked when I saw the patient's name," adding, "It is heartbreaking that people call him a hero. To our family, he is never a hero."

She continued, "Our family has suffered from the tragedy and trauma caused by his crime for years," and said, "He got a new chance at life with a new heart, but my brother was sentenced to death because of him. That heart should have gone to a qualified person."

Earlier, on the 7th, the University of Maryland Hospital performed the pig heart transplant surgery with Bennett's consent, who was a terminal patient. It is generally known that transplanting animal organs into humans causes immediate rejection reactions. However, this time, a genetically modified pig heart was used, which had the intracellular substances that cause rejection reactions removed.

After the surgery, Bennett has reportedly shown no significant rejection reactions so far. As of the 13th, the seventh day after the surgery, he is recovering in a stable condition.

In this situation, WP reported that there are currently no laws or regulations in the United States prohibiting organ transplants or experimental treatments for people with criminal records. The federal government and ethics committees also officially state that such discrimination should not exist.

The exact cost of Bennett's heart transplant surgery has not been disclosed. However, considering it as a trial application of a new treatment method, it is reported that the University of Maryland Hospital is covering the full cost.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.