U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

Post by ardit33 » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 10:35 PM UTC

tricky wrote: post #26

You might be asking, why a pig? I don't know, but forever ago I wrote software for a cardiovascular imaging lab and pigs were their primary test subjects. I was like, "why pigs?" and the PI was like, "Imaging-wise, pig hearts aren't too different from humans. Plus, we can give them a heart attack in the scanner and not go to jail. Some labs use dogs. I just can't do that."

Post by Finnucane » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 10:37 PM UTC

ardit33 wrote: post #71

tricky wrote: post #26

You might be asking, why a pig? I don't know, but forever ago I wrote software for a cardiovascular imaging lab and pigs were their primary test subjects. I was like, "why pigs?" and the PI was like, "Imaging-wise, pig hearts aren't too different from humans. Plus, we can give them a heart attack in the scanner and not go to jail. Some labs use dogs. I just can't do that."

I heard they are humanized 'pigs'. Ie. engineered so their organs don't trigger our immune system. Not sure how true is this, or it is just a myth.

Post by belter » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 10:38 PM UTC

samwillis wrote: post #32

When I was a teenager there was a novel adapted for TV by the BBC called “Pig Heart Boy”. It explored the emotional impact of this type of procedure on a teenager and the response from the public, both good and bad. I don’t remember much about it but it looks like it won a BAFTA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_Heart_Boy

Post by rzzzt » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 10:43 PM UTC

blakesterz wrote: post #7

josephcsible wrote: post #2

I wonder why an artificial heart wasn't an option here.

Other places that are reporting on him say "He was deemed ineligible for an artificial heart pump due to uncontrollable arrhythmia."

Post by pm90 » Mon, Jan 10, 2022, 10:45 PM UTC

MichaelRazum wrote: post #62

The pig life expectancy is about 12-18 years. Does it mean that the heart will work about so long?