Doctors have transplanted a pig heart into a living human recipient.
The University of Maryland Medical Center said in a news release that the patient, 58-year-old Lawrence Faucette is now breathing on his own and his heart is functioning well.
He had end-stage heart disease and told the hospital in an internal interview before the surgery that his "only real hope left" was to go forward with the pig heart.
The experimental xenotransplant surgery was approved by the FDA under its "compassionate use" program.