Assam's Dr Dhani Ram Baruah claimed that what America had accomplished in 2022, he had achieved in 1997. Dr. Baruah, now 72, caused a stir in 1997 when he performed a xenotransplantation surgery on a 32-year-old man and successfully transplanted a pig's heart and lungs. The 32-year-old survived for seven days after surgery at Baruah's clinic in Sonapur, on the outskirts of Guwahati, before succumbing to numerous infections.
The news came on Tuesday that researchers in a Maryland hospital had transplanted a genetically modified pig's heart into a patient. Meanwhile, Dr Dhani Ram had claimed of doing it earlier.
The surgery sparked widespread outrage, prompting the then-Asom Gana Parishad government in Assam to launch an investigation and detain Saikia and Hong Kong surgeon Dr Jonathan Ho Kei-Shing, who assisted him in the procedure.
Baruah and Ho Kei-Shing were both sentenced to 40 days in prison after being found guilty of unethical procedure and culpable death under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994. Dalimi Baruah, who claimed to be Baruah's long-time research collaborator, spoke on his behalf from the Dr Dhani Ram Baruah Heart Institute & Research Centre in Sonapur, where he has continued studying remedies for numerous ailments.
Dalimi claimed that her mentor's ability to talk correctly was harmed when he had a stroke a few years ago and underwent brain surgery and a tracheostomy. He told them that the US doctors were likely using the same process and understanding as he was in 1997. He has stated numerous times that pig organs can be used in humans, but no one has heeded his advice. They claimed Baruah had not been treated with the respect he deserved.
While he never had his findings professionally peer-reviewed, experts stated Baruah's assertions and medical procedures were not considered or acknowledged by the scientific world. Meanwhile, according to Dalimi, Baruah has been working on new studies in the previous five years, so that humans can led a disease-free lives.