After all other life-saving measures had been exhausted, a new human organ seemed like the best answer for one very sick patient. But when that became impossible, there was only one thing left to try.
Fascinating and well written excerpt. It's brave people like these doctors and patients who are willing to think and live outside of the box in order to help the medical community find answers. I'm so grateful to know there are humans out there who keep trying, sometimes against all odds. Bravo.
Thank you for an excellent article. I was reared in a physician’s home - my grandfather’s. He would be amazed by what can be done today.
I wish the anti-science people had not gotten to my father immediately before he died and convinced him to rescind his donation of his body. He was an interesting cancer case and a lot could have been learned.
I hope some day we can harvest our own stem cells and grow our own organs. I hate the thought of breeding a living being for the express purpose of harvesting its organs, though I would certainly do it to save my child. And it is what we do in farming them, isn’t it?
Thank you so much, Leilehua. Absolutely thought-provoking stuff that brings up a lot of issues for people… For instance, that's very interesting about your father. Thanks for sharing.
All honor to the pigs who have brains, are smart and have had no choice in the matter. I'm not saying I wouldn't make the same decision for a family member or myself, placing human needs over those of other animals, but at least acknowledge this, give mention and state appreciation for the sacrifice of the pigs.
I was hoping that the author would touch on the ethical questions surrounding Dave's criminal past. The medical team may not have known that before the surgery but I wonder if he has reflected on working so hard/trying an experimental procedure on a man who served jail time for stabbing another man, leaving him paralyzed. Maybe that's in the book. I live in Washington, DC so I've followed this story since it came out. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/pig-heart-transplant-stabbing-david-bennett/
I have Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, which according to received medical wisdom is an autoimmune disease. It causes progressive damage to the bile ducts both inside and outside the liver. Although I am not currently on a transplant list, the best case scenario for my long-term survival will be a liver transplant. The nadir would probably be bile duct cancer. When I was diagnosed with PSC I made two friends who had also been recently diagnosed, both of whom later died of bile duct cancer. It just tears you apart; the speed of it.
Let's be optimistic and assume that I end up on the waiting list for a transplant. I don't give good god damn where that liver comes from - man or beast, or if it's pieced together from deli off-cuts by a medical savant, or is found in hospital lost property languishing in a puddle of melting ice at the bottom of a polystyrene cooler like the last yogurt in a hotel breakfast buffet. Just plug it in.
Fascinating and well written excerpt. It's brave people like these doctors and patients who are willing to think and live outside of the box in order to help the medical community find answers. I'm so grateful to know there are humans out there who keep trying, sometimes against all odds. Bravo.
Thanks for the kind words, Jen!
Thank you for an excellent article. I was reared in a physician’s home - my grandfather’s. He would be amazed by what can be done today.
I wish the anti-science people had not gotten to my father immediately before he died and convinced him to rescind his donation of his body. He was an interesting cancer case and a lot could have been learned.
I hope some day we can harvest our own stem cells and grow our own organs. I hate the thought of breeding a living being for the express purpose of harvesting its organs, though I would certainly do it to save my child. And it is what we do in farming them, isn’t it?
Thank you for the thought-provoking piece.
Thank you so much, Leilehua. Absolutely thought-provoking stuff that brings up a lot of issues for people… For instance, that's very interesting about your father. Thanks for sharing.
All honor to the pigs who have brains, are smart and have had no choice in the matter. I'm not saying I wouldn't make the same decision for a family member or myself, placing human needs over those of other animals, but at least acknowledge this, give mention and state appreciation for the sacrifice of the pigs.
I was hoping that the author would touch on the ethical questions surrounding Dave's criminal past. The medical team may not have known that before the surgery but I wonder if he has reflected on working so hard/trying an experimental procedure on a man who served jail time for stabbing another man, leaving him paralyzed. Maybe that's in the book. I live in Washington, DC so I've followed this story since it came out. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/pig-heart-transplant-stabbing-david-bennett/
Good luck! To lose you would be to lose a very funny human bean.
I have Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, which according to received medical wisdom is an autoimmune disease. It causes progressive damage to the bile ducts both inside and outside the liver. Although I am not currently on a transplant list, the best case scenario for my long-term survival will be a liver transplant. The nadir would probably be bile duct cancer. When I was diagnosed with PSC I made two friends who had also been recently diagnosed, both of whom later died of bile duct cancer. It just tears you apart; the speed of it.
Let's be optimistic and assume that I end up on the waiting list for a transplant. I don't give good god damn where that liver comes from - man or beast, or if it's pieced together from deli off-cuts by a medical savant, or is found in hospital lost property languishing in a puddle of melting ice at the bottom of a polystyrene cooler like the last yogurt in a hotel breakfast buffet. Just plug it in.
Love that you managed to make this very poetic, Sam! We very much hear you (and will be optimistic for you!).