David Bennett (57), who received genetically modified pig heart in January, died on Tuesday.

The exact cause of his death is unknown, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he underwent a transplant on January 7 and where he has been recovering ever since.

His condition has been deteriorating in recent days, with the hospital announcing on Wednesday that he had died USA Today.

Bennett was the first patient to receive a genetically modified organ of animal origin. No apparent cause has been identified at the time of his death, and doctors plan to conduct a detailed examination of his death and publish the results.

The transplant, although it gave him only two months to live, means a lot to research in the field of xenotransplantation, which doctors and experts hope will help solve the shortage of human organs.

The new heart worked well for weeks, with no signs of rejection. Although he was weak from lying in bed, he was receiving rehabilitation and could sit and watch the "Super Bowl" with his therapist, and once even sang, according to USA Today.

For the first time in the history of medicine: A man received a heart from a genetically modified pig