US patient is first to get animal transplant

A US man has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig. According to reports, this surgery was the only way to save the life of patient David Bennett.

David Bennett is said to be doing well three days after the seven-hour procedure in Baltimore, though it is not yet clear what his long-term chances of survival are.

The transplant was considered the last hope of saving Mr Bennett's life, as he had been deemed ineligible for a human transplant.

Surgeon Bartley Griffith said the surgery would bring the world "one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis".

Currently 17 people die every day in the US waiting for a transplant, with more than 100,000 reportedly on the waiting list.