Pakistani-American Surgeon Transplants Pig Heart into a Human Patient
By Riaz Haq
CA
Pakistani-American heart surgeon Dr Mohammad Mohiuddin and Dr Bartley Griffith performed the first successful genetically-modified pig heart transplant into a human patient on January 7at University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) hospital in Baltimore, according to the University's press release . Considered one of the world’s foremost experts on transplanting animal organs, known as xenotransplantation, Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, MD, Professor of Surgery at UMSOM, joined the UMSOM faculty five years ago and established the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program with Dr Griffith. Dr Mohiuddin serves as the program’s Scientific/Program Director and Dr Griffith as its Clinical Director.
Dr Mohiuddin is a 1989 graduate of the Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. He came to the United States in the early 1990s and did a fellowship in Transplantation Biology and Immunology, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery Harrison Department of Surgical Research, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. A practicing Muslim, he believes it is acceptable to use pig organs if it helps save human life. Some Islamic scholars have ruled that it is prohibited to use pig for organ transplants. However, almost all research in the field of xenotransplantation is now carried out using pigs. Researchers say pigs are a preferred choice because they grow fast, and the size of their organs is similar to that of humans.
The US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the surgery on New Year’s Eve through its expanded access (compassionate use) provision. It is used when an experimental medical product, in this case the genetically-modified pig’s heart, is the only option available for a patient faced with a serious or life-threatening medical condition. The authorization to proceed was granted in the hope of saving the patient’s life, according to a UMSOM press release.
“This is the culmination of years of highly complicated research to hone this technique in animals with survival times that have reached beyond nine months. The FDA used our data and data on the experimental pig to authorize the transplant in an end-stage heart disease patient who had no other treatment options,” said Dr Mohiuddin. “The successful procedure provided valuable information to help the medical community improve this potentially life-saving method in future patients.”
About 30% of the 800,000 doctors, or about 240,000 doctors, practicing in America are of foreign origin, according to Catholic Health Association of the United States . Predictions vary, but according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, by 2025 the US will be short of about 160,000 physicians. This gap will most likely be filled by more foreign doctors.
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Foreign Doctors in US, UK. Source: OECD |
As of 2013, there were over 12,000 Pakistani doctors , or about 5% of all foreign physicians and surgeons, in practice in the United States. Pakistan is the third largest source of foreign-trained doctors. India tops with 22%, or 52,800 doctors. It is followed by the Philippines with 6%, or 14,400 foreign-trained doctors. India and Pakistan also rank as the top two sources of foreign doctors in the United Kingdom.
Over half a million Pakistani-Americans constitute the 7th largest Asian ethnic group in the United States. Pakistani-Americans are young, well-educated, and prosperous. Median age for Pakistani-Americans is 31.7 years. 60% have at least a bachelor's degree. Their median household income is $87,510 a year. Last year, the remittances from Pakistani-Americans jumped 58% to $2.75 billion .
(Riaz Haq is a Silicon Valley-based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at www.riazhaq.com )
Dr Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin a Proud Son of Pakistan: APPNA
A very proud moment for APPNA, Pakistan, and our community in North America. Our very own Dr Mansoor Mohiuddin, Director of Cardiac Xenotransplant program at University of Maryland, has successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into human. This will be a game-changer in the field of organ transplant, according to Dr Mohiuddin. His hope is that if this procedure is successful, we will have access to organs that can be genetically modified and customized for the patients.
Dr Mohiuddin is a graduate of DOW University of Health Sciences and is also the current President of DOGANA (DOW Graduates Association of North America). He is a leader at every front, let it be social and welfare work in North America or Pakistan, educating the next generation of physicians or being a game changer in the field of medicine.
APPNA is extremely proud of Dr Mohiuddin’s accomplishments, and we wish him the very best for his future endeavors.
Long live APPNA.
Haroon Durrani, MD
President APPNA 2022
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