Lawrence Faucette, 58, died Tuesday after an attempt to transfer a pig heart after experiencing heart failure, unable to receive a human heart. 

The hospital, which is located in Maryland said that the heart transplant had been successful for at least six weeks, but began showing signs of rejection. This comes after a previous transplant was implemented onto another man last year, but also failed due to a virus being found in the organ after the transplant had seemingly succeeded, leading to better testing and research. 

The man’s wife, Ann, said in a statement that he “knew his time was short”, and that he “didn’t know he would survive as anticipated.” The doctor from the hospital, Bartley Griffith reiterated her statement, saying that his “last wish was to make the most out of this experience.” 

Transplants from animals to humans have failed for decades, as human bodies have not been able to adjust to the tissue present in animal organs. However, this has tried to be erased, as scientists and medical professionals have tried to genetically modify tissue to make the organs more human-like for successful transplants.