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Cocaine Used In Pig-To-Human Heart Transplant

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During an unprecedented pig-to-human heart transplant, that happened earlier in the month, the organ got extra assistance from a drug, cocaine.

Thus, doctors at the University of Maryland think more transplant hospitals should use the party drug.

David Bennett, 57, received the genetically-changed pig heart. The heart was created by Revivicor, a lab company, and modified to work in a human body.

Then, a Swedish medical tech business, XVIVO, fortified it with the cocaine.

When body organs are transported, they are normally done so from a short distance. This is to ensure that the organ doesn’t start to deteriorate within a couple of hours.

In this procedure, cocaine was used with cortisol and adrenaline that kept the organ from expiring. It had to travel from overseas to Maryland.

Of course, United States officials were alerted because the drug hasn’t been utilized in this type of way before in the U.S.

Doctors note that when the solution was used, the man’s heart was maintained and beat effectively.

They now hope further research will be done on the use of cocaine and transplants, in order to be regularly approved in the United States.



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