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Researchers Keep Pig Heart Beating In Baboon Belly For 2 Years (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Researchers report Tuesday that they were able to keep pig hearts alive and beating in the abdomens of five baboons for record amounts of time -- a median of 298 days and a max of 945 days. Previous benchmarks were set at a median of 180 and a max of 500 days, respectively. Currently in the US, 22 people die every day just waiting for organs, which are in constant short supply. To help solve the problem, researchers turned to pigs years ago to see if they could lend useful organs or at least provide temporary "bridge" tissue to those on wait-lists. Pigs were a good fit mainly because their organs' sizes are similar to that of human's. In early studies, successful survival time in pig-to-primate transplants, generally called xenotransplants, were measured in minutes. The swine substitutes naturally have a molecular marker, called alpha 1-3-galactosyltransferase (gal), which triggers deadly blood clots in primates. In the new study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues, tweaked the approach; they engineered the gal-knock out pigs to have extra anti-clotting genetic features and used an antibody to selectively shut down the part of the primate's immune system that responds to pig organs. To avoid needlessly killing the baboons and doing extensive surgery, the researchers opted to transplant the pig hearts into the baboon's abdomens, leaving the primates' hearts in place. In the abdomen, the pig tickers hooked up to circulatory system and beat for a record-breaking amount of time.
Or, you know, make organ donor opt-out instead of opt-in, like other countries ... that also solves the problem.
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
"Did anyone ask the baboon's opinion on having a pig's heart pointlessly stuck in his stomach?"
Yes. The baboons answered they hated it. So they stopped pointlessly putting pigs' hearts into baboons stomachs.
Then they went back to the baboons and asked about putting pigs' hearts into their stomachs, not pointlessly but in order to study how they could eventually better the life expectancy for humans in need of a transplant. To that, the baboons agreed.
That's, little boy, how this situation came to be. Promise.
He saved Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorah, and Lot went on to get both his daughters pregnant while he was living in a cave... but that's ok, because he was drunk at the time! So, since Lot is one of the HEROES of the Old Testament, that means what Trump wants to do to his own daughter is ok, right? Where was I going with this... you wonder where people get all these perverted ideas from? The Bible is certainly one source...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
If Kermit the Frog dates outside his own species... is that still bestiality?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Two hearts... Is this baboon a swinelord?
Did anyone ask the baboon's opinion on having a pig's heart pointlessly stuck in his stomach?
I hope you stay firmly attached to your high-horse when you given the option between having a pig's heart and dying.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
I'm afraid that without the tremendous wear, tear, and turbulence of an active heart pumping the approximate 20 liters of blood per minute of a human heart, the test is interesting but hardly complete. Turbulence can trigger blood clots, which are one of the main risks of transplants. Another risk of cardiac transplants is the failure of the connections to original veins and arteries. Until and unless those are tested under significant load, the experiments remain very incomplete.
Also, given the compatibility issues of pig hearts, I'm quite startled that human hearts of incorrect tissue matches are not more viable. I'm aware that few hearts are harvested in good condition, but I'm surprised that this difficult and risky xenotransplant is serously considered. If it were merely skin grafts, or blood vessel grafts for repairs, I'd understand it better.
Great idea, if you never want to have kids.
One of the big problems with xeno-transplants from pigs is PERV (Porcine Endogenous RetroVirus).
We've treated a number of people with Parkinson's in the U.S. (many more in Russia, where the technique was pioneered) using fetal pig stem cells from the brains. However, we're typically worried about introducing the virus to the human genome, since it become part of the actual genome of the organism (hence "endogenous"). One of the requirements to participate in the clinical trials was an agreement to not have unprotected sex which might result in a pregnancy -- ever -- to keep it out of the human genome.
Scientists announced that theyve kept the brain of a baboon alive inside the head of a well known NYC real estate tycoon turned politician. "We decline to name the individual as we are still collecting research data and do not want to influence the experiment".
"Preliminary data suggests that the transplant was a huge success, with most people being unable to tell that 'subject X' wasnt really 'firing on all cylinders'. Eventually we'll have to restore the patients original brain. At that time we can also remove the poodle we transplanted onto the subjects scalp to cover the scars from the operation."
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
The article makes the point about 'rather than killing the baboons'. The baboons weren't exactly enjoying a 'life' but you can see where this would go. It would be cheaper if you could reuse baboons (expensive) for successive hearts.
Odd: The article concludes that experiments have to be carried out using the process but with animals whose own hearts have been removed. Not sure what the point is. Apparently, a pig's heart when left in the pig will beat for at least a decade if not prematurely stopped.
"Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
I have seen a baboon attack a rival, beat it to the point it was rendered paralysed, and then commence to eat parts off it's back while it's still alive and screaming. Eating meat is part of nature, and humans are biologically wired to do so. Your argument about it being cruel to use animals in medical experiments is sound however.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.