currentscurrents t1_itomb89 wrote
Reply to comment by DanteJazz in The cutting-edge cellular therapies aiming to ease America's organ shortage. Major transplantation surgeries could one day become outpatient procedures. by Sariel007
This is a good idea but it wouldn't completely solve the problem. There are countries with opt-out policies, and they do have higher donation rates, but the demand still exceeds the supply. This isn't going to change as long as the leading cause of death is old age.
Technology is the only answer here; xenotransplantation or organ cloning. Right now xenotransplantation is much more promising - just this year, a genetically-altered pig heart was successfully transplanted into a human. We are going to see a lot more clinical trials in the very near future.
TheGoodFight2015 t1_itouhqe wrote
Incredibly, there is already a standard set of using animal parts as replacement parts, not for entire organs but for things like valves. And they apparent work quite well. There is so much hope and promise of medical advancement in the near future. I work near an area that has some of the most advanced medical facilities and research in the world, and I get such a rush any time I go by there at the thought of what good humans are doing for a better future.
MightyBoat t1_itp2kby wrote
That's so cool. I'm assuming the genetically modified part means there's no need for life long anti rejection medication?
RivetheadGirl t1_itson4r wrote
It probably would depend on how exactly they can match your body's biomarkers.
Even mechanical valves need to have a person taking anticoagulant medicine life long to prevent them from getting clots in their body because it's a foreign object.
techno156 t1_itp5j6y wrote
>Right now xenotransplantation is much more promising - just this year, a genetically-altered pig heart was successfully transplanted into a human. We are going to see a lot more clinical trials in the very near future.
Unfortunately, he died shortly after, so it might not be quite there just yet.
AnneFrankFanFiction t1_itpbsjn wrote
That wasn't unexpected, though. Really the experiment gave him an extra two months of life. The next trial will likely last longer. That's how science works: incremental improvements
StonerJake22727 t1_itq6qdq wrote
Yeah but the guy with the pig heart only lived for like 2 months.. it’s a start but not even close to a Viable option
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments