Man who had pig heart transplant was guilty of 1988 stabbing

US:The man who received the world’s first pig heart transplant once stabbed a man seven times leaving him paralysed, his victim’s family have revealed.

David Bennett, 57, was convicted of the 1988 stabbing of Edward Shumaker, his sister told Radio 4’s Today show.

Leslie Shumaker Downey said that her brother died in 2007 after almost two decades of medical complications linked to the attack. She said Bennett was an unworthy recipient of the pioneering surgery.

The attack took place in April 1988. Bennett was found guilty of battery and carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Downey said nobody had contacted her about Bennett receiving the pig heart, and only heard the news when her daughter messaged her.

But Bennett’s doctors said that past crimes do not disqualify patients from getting such procedures.

“It is the solemn obligation of any hospital or health care organization to provide lifesaving care to every patient who comes through their doors based on their medical needs,” officials at the University of Maryland Medical Centre told The New York Times.

– YAZOO NEWS