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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

#241

Post by XorNot »

majormajor wrote: post #86
woke_neoliberal wrote: post #35

The pig was modified to remove presentation of immunogenic sugars on the cell surface. Unfortunately, the recipient needs to be on immunosuppressants the rest of their life. This rekindles discussions back in school about chimeras... in order for the organs to be immunocompatible, the donor needs to be partially human. What % is too human to harvest for organs? I suppose it's still too soon to answer such questions,…

What part do you think opens that door? Human organ recipients also need immunosuppressants forever, outside of rare cases. This particular case sounds like a very small modification to the source pig, not a pig carrying a human organ.

I mean I imagine there's research trying to do exactly that: you can identify beating heart cells very early on in embryos, and chimeric organisms are a thing. I imagine someone somewhere is trying to swap out those early cells with human heart cells to see if you can literally grow a pig with a human heart.

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

#243

Post by cpdean »

dexwiz wrote: post #180
polishdude20 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you make sure all those experiments don't interfere with eachother?

From what I remember most of the experiments where more material based like healing a bone, or replacing a joint, or some sort of implant. So you could have things interfere, but it wasn’t like drug trials which would effect the entire body.

the image here got so much more visceral now

i guess i shouldn't be surprised what a medical experiment is but breaking a pig foot?? ouch

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

#244

Post by derekp7 »

JetAlone wrote: post #228
TravHatesMe wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bit of a tangent: I read the article to my wife and she mentioned that there is an episode of Grey's Anatomy where they wanted to perform a transplant of a pig's bowels but the Jewish (or Muslim?) lady refused. Interesting how one might choose to their faith over their life.

I'd want to question why I'm doing it. For example do I have kids I need to stick around to support? Or am I just going to be discharged to mostly play video games, alone? Because I don't see a need to extend that life. Then I'd want to think about what it symbolizes. Is it really so irrational to just let my body die when my God-given guts fail instead of depending on the hands of man to possibly convert my body int…

Do you feel the same way about other life saving technologies such as seat belts and motorcycle helmets? What about hitting the anti lock breaks when a semi pulls out in front of you? The same philosophy can be applied to other life saving / extending measures such as adjustments to diet, or taking high blood pressure medicine.

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

#245

Post by pkaye »

MichaelRazum wrote: post #62

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

As a kidney dialysis patient who is 6 year in the waiting list, I know the wait times have been slowly creeping up. Any bridging solution to reduce need for dialysis or even better forms of dialysis would be welcome. Despite the anti rejection medication people tell me they feel way better when they get a functional kidney.

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

#246

Post by iancmceachern »

rzzzt wrote: post #77
blakesterz wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I jumped onto Wikipedia to figure out why arrhytmia might be a problem, and it looks like "artificial heart pump" might stand for a VAD (Ventricular Assist Device), as in it pumps blood and it helps, but the original organ remains in circuit.

Yes, and good examples are the Heartmate 2 and 3. Both have been implanted in tens of thousands of people.

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

#247

Post by Sporktacular »

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…

"I'm curious if anyone else read this story with mixed reactions."

Definitely.

There are the whole experimentation and vivisection angles that makes it potentially more abusive and agonising than slaughter, especially under the usual commercial incentives, weak jurisdictions etc. The headlines will inevitably come.

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

#248

Post by iancmceachern »

mhb wrote: post #14
josephcsible wrote: post #2

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

It seems like those are not quite there yet: How to Build an Artificial Heart https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/how-to-build-a...

Yes they are. The syncardia TAH, Heartmate 2 and 3, Carmet, etc.

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

#249

Post by pkaye »

SavantIdiot wrote: post #41

This is great news. The organ donor wait list is 6-8 years for most organs (kidneys, livers, etc.). Please be an organ donor.

Yup, I'm a kidney dialysis patient waiting 6 years on the list. In theory I'm approaching the front of the list but they still need to make sure I get good compatibility so who knows. I've know people who have waited for 8-10 years!

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

#250

Post by waiseristy »

aspaviento wrote: post #159
tombert wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was about to say, aren't pigs smarter than dogs generally? Seems like a strange line to draw.

As many aspects in our society, appearance matters the most.

What does that even mean? Plenty of people find farm animals adorable, why else would we have petting zoo's?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that humans eat meat, and we've gotten quite used to processing certain species of animals for their meat.

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