Assam doctor claims he transplanted pig's heart into humans back in 1997

Guwahati: Following the report about the transplantation of a genetically modified pig's heart into a patient in the US, a doctor in Assam claimed it is not a new thing for him as he did it 24 years ago.

The Indian Express quoted Dr Dhani Ram Baruah as saying that he had transplanted a pig's heart and lungs on a 32-year-old man in 1997.

Dr Baruah, now 72, and his associates who helped in the surgery, were put on trial after the man died seven days after the surgery of multiple infections. Dr Baruah and his associates had been arrested for the guilty of unethical procedure and culpable homicide under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

Talking on behalf of Dr Baruah, his long-time associate, Dr Dalimi Baruah, said that Dr Baruah thinks it was likely the US doctors might have used the same procedure as he did back in 1997. Dr Baruah's finding that pig organs can be used in humans had been rejected back then, she said.

Critics said Baruah's claims and medical procedures were not taken seriously, nor accepted by the scientific community, because he never got his findings scientifically peer-reviewed.