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U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

apnews.com

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Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#101

Post by krisoft »

shagie wrote: post #94
ardit33 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The Alpha Gal sugar. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/alpha... and https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/retur... are good listens on the subject. In particular from the second one: > SOREN: Which brings me back to that little part of the article that piqued my interest in the beginning, because the pig that they got the kidney from to do this was a very special pig. Normally, p…

Now I wonder if someone who got meat alergy after a tick bite could eat these pigs. Is this the same alpha gal in both cases?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#102

Post by gitgrump »

valachio wrote: post #59
Victerius wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What ... happens to the pigs who get accidental heart attacks? Are they ...? Do they ...?

They end up on my dinner plate as a delicious high-protein meal.

Careful, or they might eventually become a human heart attack!

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#103

Post by Turing_Machine »

garren wrote: post #15

I wonder why a pig heart rather than one from another primate? The article mentions a baboon heart in an earlier attempt at xenotransplantation with an infant. Is a pig’s heart as, or more, compatible or is it more a matter of availability?

It would probably have to be a gorilla, chimp, or orangutan to be big enough to work in an adult human, and those are all endangered species.

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#105

Post by mattrighetti »

Ensorceled wrote: post #47

Reminder: We've been replacing human heart VALVES with pig valves for a long time now. My grandmother lived for almost a decade after her replacement. https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/learning/pig-valve-repla...

My father got a brand new cow valve a few months ago. He had to choose between that, a pig one and a mechanical one, each one is better for each specific case from what I understand. But yeah, crazy stuff.

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#106

Post by gitgrump »

Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #18

The poor guy, not only is he on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his days, but he's a new type of walking transgenic disease vector.

Transplant recipients are on immunosuppressants forever anyway, so this is as inconvenient as receiving a human heart. And hey, it beats being dead!

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#108

Post by type_enthusiast »

krisoft wrote: post #101
shagie wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Alpha Gal sugar. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/alpha... and https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/retur... are good listens on the subject. In particular from the second one: > SOREN: Which brings me back to that little part of the article that piqued my interest in the beginning, because the pig that they got the kidney from to do this was a very special pig. Normally, p…

Now I wonder if someone who got meat alergy after a tick bite could eat these pigs. Is this the same alpha gal in both cases? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy

Yes – they also discussed this pretty extensively in the RadioLab segment.

In the second segment (linked by GP), they first re-played the previous segment (also linked by GP) about alpha-gal allergy. They then revealed that the company behind the alpha-gal safe pigs (which are being grown for medial research purposes) heard the previous one about the alpha-gal allergy, and after hearing it decided to seek FDA approval for alpha-gal safe pigs in the food market (which they received).

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#109

Post by wombatmobile »

Vrondi wrote: post #53
melling wrote: post #12

“The Maryland surgeons used a heart from a pig that had undergone gene-editing to remove a sugar in its cells that’s responsible for that hyper-fast organ rejection.” So, we need to genetically engineer the animals

We just need to grow the organs in the lab.

If we keep improving the whole animal, refining its physiology, appearance, personality, behaviour, judgement, presentation skills, longevity and resilience, the USA will eventually have the opportunity to elect a leader who can heal and unite a divided nation.

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#110

Post by khazhoux »

zanethomas wrote: post #45
hwbehrens wrote: post #38

If pigs (or any animal) broaden the compatibility to other organs, what are the ethical implications for raising them with the intention to harvest their organs, if any? On one hand, we already raise pigs to kill and eat routinely, and (mostly) people don't care - is this any different than say, buying a pig heart at the market to eat? On the other hand, it does somehow feel different to me, perhaps because sharing o…

Eat all the bacon you want, get heart disease, get new heart, eat more bacon.

Classic platform lock-in strategy.
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