A new year in medicine has started off strong, with the world’s first patient undergoing heart gene therapy in Glasgow. The patient, John MacDonald, volunteered to be the first trial participant. The surgery was successfully carried out after he suffered a heart attack at the beginning of August 2025.
The treatment is used during heart bypass surgery — surgery for patients with coronary heart disease or other heart issues. Where there is a blocked artery in the heart, bypass surgery involves taking an artery and vein from another part of the body and creating a new path around the blocked one. Unfortunately, 50 per cent of these vein grafts fail five–10 years post-surgery, as they are unable to withstand the pressure inside the heart. The gene therapy treatment involves precisely editing DNA in veins to strengthen them for their new role. Gene therapy like this is revolutionary as a medical tool, as the edited genes will continually improve the cell without any further medical assistance. This has the potential to change heart bypass surgery, as lower failure rates will enable older patients to undergo the surgery with far less risk and live longer, healthier lives.
The treatment emerged from the PROTECT study — an accumulation of over two decades of teamwork between the University of Glasgow, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and the University of Edinburgh — and is largely funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
John, now 73, shared: “I feel 100 per cent better than I was after I got my stents 13 years ago. I’m really feeling good — I feel on top of the world, actually.” He also noted that he no longer felt lethargic, and that his sleep and general health have improved massively. Despite being aware of the risks, John agreed to undergo the new trial with the optimism that once approved, many lives will benefit from the surgery. He added: “We as a family are forever grateful to a magnificent team of surgeons, doctors, and nurses who have fixed my failing heart and given me my quality of life back.”
Moving a study from the lab to the clinic is no easy task, made possible only through collaboration between many teams of experts and the generosity of the public that funds the research. Professor James Leiper, Director of Research at the BHF, said: “This pioneering study is an inspiring reminder of how far gene therapy — once a distant scientific ambition — has come. In partnership with the MRC, continued BHF funding has enabled Professors Berry and Baker to begin the clinical trials necessary to prove the value of this new therapy. We look forward to seeing the results of this exciting trial in a few years.”
Photo by Olga Kononenko on Unsplash