pig! Man gets genetically-modified pig heart in world-first transplant

[Steven P. Administrators]

 

A US man has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig.

 

David Bennett, 57, is doing well three days after the experimental seven-hour procedure in Baltimore, doctors say.

 

The transplant was considered the last hope of saving Mr Bennett's life, though it is not yet clear what his long-term chances of survival are.

 

"It was either die or do this transplant," Mr Bennett explained a day before the surgery.

 

"I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," he said.

 

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center were granted a special dispensation by the US medical regulator to carry out the procedure, on the basis that Mr Bennett - who has terminal heart disease - would otherwise have died.

 

He had been deemed ineligible for a human transplant, a decision that is often taken by doctors when the patient is in very poor health.

 

The pig used in the transplant had been genetically modified to knock out several genes that would have led to the organ being rejected by Mr Bennett's body, the AFP news agency reports.

 

For the medical team who carried out the transplant, it marks the culmination of years of research and could change lives around the world.

 

Surgeon Bartley Griffith said the surgery would bring the world "one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis". Currently 17 people die every day in the US waiting for a transplant, with more than 100,000 reportedly on the waiting list. 😢

 

Source and more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59944889

 

I wonder if Muslims would reject this kind of surgery? (serious question for any Muslims on Neowin).

[+Warwagon MVC]

Pretty cool! 

 

I wonder how long the heart is good for, I wonder if the modifications extend that, as a pigs lifespan is 15 - 20 years. It would be pretty neat if we could use unmodified hearts and there would be plenty to go around.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

On 11/01/2022 at 09:14, Steven P. said:

 

A US man has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig.

 

David Bennett, 57, is doing well three days after the experimental seven-hour procedure in Baltimore, doctors say.

 

The transplant was considered the last hope of saving Mr Bennett's life, though it is not yet clear what his long-term chances of survival are.

 

"It was either die or do this transplant," Mr Bennett explained a day before the surgery.

 

"I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," he said.

 

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center were granted a special dispensation by the US medical regulator to carry out the procedure, on the basis that Mr Bennett - who has terminal heart disease - would otherwise have died.

 

He had been deemed ineligible for a human transplant, a decision that is often taken by doctors when the patient is in very poor health.

 

The pig used in the transplant had been genetically modified to knock out several genes that would have led to the organ being rejected by Mr Bennett's body, the AFP news agency reports.

 

For the medical team who carried out the transplant, it marks the culmination of years of research and could change lives around the world.

 

Surgeon Bartley Griffith said the surgery would bring the world "one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis". Currently 17 people die every day in the US waiting for a transplant, with more than 100,000 reportedly on the waiting list. 😢

 

Source and more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59944889

 

I wonder if Muslims would reject this kind of surgery? (serious question for any Muslims on Neowin).

Hmm interesting question about Muslims... Lol. I would have to guess yes. But then again this surgery is for when you are going to die otherwise so I think it will be up to a person to see how strong their faith is... 🙄

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 11/01/2022 at 17:19, E.Worm Jimmy said:

Hmm interesting question about Muslims... Lol. I would have to guess yes. But then again this surgery is for when you are going to die otherwise so I think it will be up to a person to see how strong their faith is... 🙄

Jehovah's witnesses reject things like blood transfusions based on their faith.

 

From Google:

 

Quote

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that it is against God's will to receive blood and, therefore, they refuse blood transfusions, often even if it is their own blood. The willing acceptance of blood transfusions by Jehovah's Witnesses has in some cases led to expulsion from and ostracisation by their religious community.

🤷‍♂️ I knew a kid who turned his back on the faith (he was like 14) and he was disowned by his whole family (except his mother who got into trouble for trying to see him).

[Jim K Global Moderator]

On 11/01/2022 at 10:14, Steven P. said:

I wonder if Muslims would reject this kind of surgery? (serious question for any Muslims on Neowin).

Seems like at least some would be ok with it.  Egypt's Al-Azhar issued a fatwa permitting pig kidneys to be transplanted into humans though some clerics of the same council denounced it.

 

Regarding a pig kidney transplanted into a human last year....

 

Quote

//

Egyptian clerics, however, were quick to denounce the procedure, arguing that Islamic Sharia prohibits any kind of pig consumption.

 

In the first scathing comment, Attia Lashin, a member of the Fatwa Committee of Al-Azhar in Egypt, described the surgery as impermissible, stressing in a statement on Oct. 22 that “any use or consumption of pig meat or body organs is a sin, and pigs will continue to be forbidden until the end of days.”

 

//

 

In a bid to resolve the controversy, Al-Azhar — the country’s main religious reference — and Dar al-Ifta issued statements.

 

In an official fatwa, Al-Azhar said that it is forbidden to use anything that is impure for medical treatment, including pig organs, unless there is an absolute necessity. Dar al-Ifta also said that if there was no other alternative, pig transplant would be permissible because preserving life is the highest quest in the Islamic Sharia.

 

//

 

Al-Monitor

[Dick Montage]

On 11/01/2022 at 16:14, Steven P. said:

I wonder if Muslims would reject this kind of surgery?

They'd probably want the pig's throat slit while still alive then drained of it's blood...

[Steven P. Administrators]

On 11/02/2022 at 14:11, Dick Montage said:

They'd probably want the pig's throat slit while still alive then drained of it's blood...

Do they drink the blood?  🤮

[Dick Montage]

On 11/02/2022 at 13:56, Steven P. said:

Do they drink the blood?  🤮

No, that's a halal slaughter technique.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

On 11/02/2022 at 08:56, Steven P. said:

Do they drink the blood?  🤮

Do you really think that was a possibility?

 

I refuse to drink anything else other then snake blood, personally!

 

For mammals - it is just ritual... No one will drink it.

 

Well - some night cook it though

 

 

 

 

 

[DocM]

On 11/02/2022 at 12:32, E.Worm Jimmy said:

Do you really think that was a possibility?

 

I refuse to drink anything else other then snake blood, personally!

 

For mammals - it is just ritual... No one will drink it.

 

Well - some night cook it though

 

Pork blood jelly

[FloatingFatMan]

On 11/02/2022 at 17:32, E.Worm Jimmy said:

Do you really think that was a possibility?

 

I refuse to drink anything else other then snake blood, personally!

 

For mammals - it is just ritual... No one will drink it.

 

Well - some night cook it though

 

Mmmmm.. Black pudding!

 

[DocM]

On 11/02/2022 at 15:10, FloatingFatMan said:

Mmmmm.. Black pudding!

 

I once had Korean blood sausage at a coworkers and it was pretty good. Similar? 

[FloatingFatMan]

On 12/02/2022 at 04:36, DocM said:

 

I once had Korean blood sausage at a coworkers and it was pretty good. Similar? 

Never had that but I'd guess so?  Pig blood boiled with various herbs and spices and made into a sausage. Can be eaten hot or cold, usually served in the UK with a "Full English" breakfast...

 

The black round thing between the egg and the bread...

 

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Unfortunately, Mr. Bennett died after the heart failed.

 

Quote

Earlier this year, news broke of the first experimental xenotransplantation: A human patient with heart disease received a heart from a pig that had been genetically engineered to avoid rejection. While initially successful, the experiment ended two months later when the transplant failed, leading to the death of the patient. At the time, the team didn't disclose any details regarding what went wrong. But this week saw the publication of a research paper that goes through everything that happened to prepare for the transplant and the weeks following.

 

Critically, this includes the eventual failure of the transplant, which was triggered by the death of many of the muscle cells in the transplanted heart. But the reason for that death isn't clear, and the typical signs of rejection by the immune system weren't present. So, we're going to have to wait a while to understand what went wrong.

 

//

ArsTechnica

 

 

[FloatingFatMan]

It's sad that he passed, but personally, I don't think this is a direction science should take.  Better, IMO, to invest the resources on developing artificial hearts, or even cloning human organs, rather than using animal ones.