中英對照讀新聞》Surgeons perform second pig heart transplant, trying to save a dying man 外科醫生進行第二次猪心臟移植 試圖挽救垂死男子

◎陳成良

Surgeons have transplanted a pig’s heart into a dying man in a bid to prolong his life – only the second patient to ever undergo such an experimental feat. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday.

外科醫生將一顆猪的心臟移植到一名垂死男子身上，以延長他的生命，這是第二名經歷這種實驗壯舉的患者。馬里蘭州醫生週五表示，兩天後，這名男子開始開玩笑，並且能夠坐在椅子上。

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The 58-year-old Navy veteran was facing near-certain death from heart failure but other health problems meant he wasn’t eligible for a traditional heart transplant, according to doctors at University of Maryland Medicine.

馬里蘭大學醫學院的醫生表示，這名58歲的海軍老兵因心臟衰竭幾乎必死無疑，但其他健康問題意味著他沒有資格接受傳統的心臟移植手術。

The same Maryland team last year performed the world’s first transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into another dying man, David Bennett, who survived just two months.

去年，馬里蘭州的同一個團隊將世界上第一顆基因改造猪心臟，移植到另一名垂死的男子大衛‧貝內特身上，他只活了兩個月。

There’s a huge shortage of human organs donated for transplant. Last year, there were just over 4,100 heart transplants in the U.S., a record number but the supply is so tight that only patients with the best chance of long-term survival get offered one. （AP）

捐贈用於移植的人體器官嚴重短缺。去年，美國有4100多例心臟移植，這是一個創紀錄的數目，但供應非常吃緊，只有最有可能長期存活的病患才能獲得移植手術。（美聯社）

新聞辭典

feat：名詞，功績；業績；英勇事跡。例句：He did a marvellous feat.（他成就了驚人的功績。）

crack a joke：片語，開玩笑。例句：You cannot crack jokes during the meeting.（你不能在開會時開玩笑。）