A ‘lifeline’, animal farmed

The recent transplant of a pig’s heart into a man highlights the close connection between species.

Sanjay Nagral
Jan 17, 2022, The Hindu

A few days ago, from the midst of the daily gloom of COVID-19, came uplifting news of a pathbreaking surgical procedure in a New York hospital. A pig’s heart was successfully transplanted into a 57-year-old man dying of heart failure. The ‘xenotransplant’, as interspecies transplants are called, was a reminder of the endless possibilities to treat otherwise untreatable diseases.

Transplantation to replace failing organs is one of the spectacular achievements of medicine in the last century. The number of transplants has increased, the list of organs transplanted has grown and outcomes have got better. But the field is also a victim of its own success as the numbers of those needing transplants now far outnumbers the availability of human organs. Both living and dead humans are being sourced as donors but because of scientific, ethical and social challenges, the number of human donors remains restricted. The desperation for organs also creates a fertile ground to lure the vulnerable to sell their organs as we witnessed in the recent kidney scandal in Assam.

Note: Articles older than one year are part of The Hindu archives, available only to premium subscribers. To log in or subscribe,
click here.

This handout photo released by the University of Maryland School of Medicine on January 10, 2022 shows surgeon Dr. Bartley Griffith (left) with patient David Bennett, Sr., who received a heart implant from a genetically modified pig in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo: University of Maryland School of Medicine via AFP