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First heart transplant from a pig

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

57-year-old David Bennett, who doctors say was too ill to qualify for a human heart, is doing well three days after the experimental seven-hour treatment. The surgery is being hailed by many as a medical breakthrough that could shorten transplant waiting times and change the lives of patients around the world. But some are questioning if the procedure can be ethically justified.

They have pointed to potential moral trouble spots over patient safety, animal rights and religious concerns.

Medical implications

This is an experimental surgery, and brings with it huge risks for the patient. Even well-matched human donor organs can be rejected after they are transplanted - and with animal organs the danger is likely to be higher. Doctors have been trying to use animal organs for what is known as xenotransplantation for decades, with mixed success.

In 1984, doctors in California tried to save a baby girl's life by giving her the heart of a baboon, but she died 21 days later. While such treatments are very, very risky, some medical ethicists say they should still go ahead if the patient knows the risks.

Doctors who worked on Mr Bennett's case say the operation was justified because he had no other treatment options and would have died without it.

Animal rights

Mr Bennett's treatment has also re-sparked a debate over the use of pigs for human transplants, which many animal rights groups oppose. One of them, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has condemned Mr Bennett's pig heart transplant as "unethical, dangerous, and a tremendous waste of resources".

"Animals aren't tool-sheds to be raided but complex, intelligent beings," PETA said. Campaigners say it is wrong to modify the genes of animals to make them more like humans. Scientists altered 10 genes in the pig whose heart was used for Mr Bennett's transplant so it would not be rejected by his body.

The pig had its heart removed on the morning of the operation.

A spokesperson for Animal Aid, a UK-based animal rights group, told the BBC it was opposed to modifying animal genes or xenotransplants "in any circumstances". "Animals have a right to live their lives, without being genetically manipulated with all the pain and trauma this entails, only to be killed and their organs harvested," the organization said. Some campaigners have concerns regarding the unknown long-term effects of genetic modification on the pig's health.

Religion

Another quandary could emerge around those whose faiths might mean it is tricky for them to receive an animal organ. Pigs are chosen as the relevant organs are a similar size to humans' - and because pigs are relatively easy to breed and raise in captivity.

But how does this choice affect Jewish or Muslim patients, whose religions have strict rules on the animal?

Although Jewish law forbids Jews from raising or eating pigs, receiving a pig heart is "not in any way a violation of the Jewish dietary laws", says Dr Moshe Freedman, a senior London rabbi who sits on the UK Health Department's Moral and Ethical Advisory Group (MEAG). "Since the primary concern in Jewish law is the preservation of human life, a Jewish patient would be obligated to accept a transplant from an animal if this offered the greatest chance of survival and the best quality of life in the future," Rabbi Freedman told the BBC.

For Islam, there's a similar bottom line that the use of animal material is permitted if it saves a person's life. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, the country's central authority for issuing religious rulings, has said in a fatwa that pig heart valves are allowed if "there is fear for the patient's life, the loss of one of his organs, exacerbation or continuation of the disease or an overwhelming deterioration of the body".

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59951264

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RIP Add1ct :(

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PETA folks talk a lot, but c'mon... if it was them, their spouse, or child, the pig love would fly out the window.

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Nobody should take PETA seriously anymore. If you do, you’re an idiot. 

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3 hours ago, Djgb13 said:

Nobody should take PETA seriously anymore. If you do, you’re an idiot. 

PETA's problem has always been they go too far.  I agree that Sea World shouldn't have dolphins and whales living in swimming pools doing stupid pet tricks. That just seems ethically wrong.  But then PETA says Sea World shouldn't even have a goldfish in a fish tank.?. I think we can all agree that mammals of a certain size living in a tiny area is wrong, but a goldfish? 

As for saving a human being's life over a damn pig... how could anyone be against that?  Which is why no one takes PETA seriously, even when they're actually right.

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2 hours ago, GobbleDog said:

PETA's problem has always been they go too far.  I agree that Sea World shouldn't have dolphins and whales living in swimming pools doing stupid pet tricks. That just seems ethically wrong.  But then PETA says Sea World shouldn't even have a goldfish in a fish tank.?. I think we can all agree that mammals of a certain size living in a tiny area is wrong, but a goldfish? 

As for saving a human being's life over a damn pig... how could anyone be against that?  Which is why no one takes PETA seriously, even when they're actually right.

Basically PETA became unbearable. I believe they started off with the right mindset. However they’ve jumped ship with their retarded views. Just like the left 

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18 minutes ago, Djgb13 said:

Basically PETA became unbearable. I believe they started off with the right mindset. However they’ve jumped ship with their retarded views. Just like the left 

I see what you did there. 

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And let's be honest, this guy has a boat load of jokes the rest of his life.  If it was me, I'd immediately fly on a plane, take a selfie, smile, oink and wink. 

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6 hours ago, GobbleDog said:

PETA's problem has always been they go too far. 

Like every other liberal idea. 

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13 hours ago, Strike said:

I thought this was going to be a thread about Rosie O'Donnell.

This is exactly why I opened this a thread

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4 hours ago, Drizzay said:

Big man, pig man
Ha ha, charade you are

 
Favorite album ever....
 
You!
up old hag
Ha ha, charade you are
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass
You're nearly a good laugh
Almost worth a quick grin
You like the feel of steel
You're hot stuff with a hatpin
And good fun with a hand gun
 
 
 
Dogs though was my favorite song on the album.

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I hate you, David!  You are so heartless!

You know that's not true Betty.  Now bend over and let me make you squeal!

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This calls for a celebration. 🎉🎊🎈

I happened to buy the rest of David Bennett's pig on Amazon, anybody want a ham sandwich?🥓🥪

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They transplanted it in a guy who is going to die. They wanted to choose someone who had nothing to lose, however he also does not have much to gain.

 

Hopefully, this pans out, however in my opinion it is still decades away from being a commercial procedure if it even works.

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7 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

They transplanted it in a guy who is going to die. They wanted to choose someone who had nothing to lose, however he also does not have much to gain.

 

Hopefully, this pans out, however in my opinion it is still decades away from being a commercial procedure if it even works.

I would have thought we'd have made more progress since Barney Clark:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart

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Quote

First heart transplant from a pig

When I read the title, I thought the pig performed the surgery.  :(  

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4 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

 

When I read the title, I thought the pig performed the surgery.  :(  

Tragically, we don't have enough bovine heart surgeons. Anyone with hooves and an IQ of 25 should have a shot. Its another field in desperate need of more equity.

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9 minutes ago, Voltaire said:

Tragically, we don't have enough bovine heart surgeons. Anyone with hooves and an IQ of 25 should have a shot. Its another field in desperate need of more equity.

Arnold Ziffle could perform surgery, no doubt about it.

 

 

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We can make a woman a man without surgery, just feelings. This shouldn’t be that difficult.  

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4 hours ago, porkbutt said:

this guy is getting lots of attention...what a ham

 

3 hours ago, porkbutt said:

i wonder if they put oinkment on the incision

You're offal.  😂

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4 hours ago, MTSkiBum said:

They transplanted it in a guy who is going to die. They wanted to choose someone who had nothing to lose, however he also does not have much to gain.

 

Hopefully, this pans out, however in my opinion it is still decades away from being a commercial procedure if it even works.

We are all going to die. 😕

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41 minutes ago, Mookz said:

 

You're offal.  😂

guy's hogging up a hospital bed in the middle of a pandemic

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23 minutes ago, porkbutt said:

guy's hogging up a hospital bed in the middle of a pandemic

 

22 minutes ago, porkbutt said:

well look at that, you loin something new every day.

so awesome that the punny jokes are coming from someone rightfully named!!!

"hopefully this guy will be back bringing home the bacon soon"

 

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5 minutes ago, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

 

so awesome that the punny jokes are coming from someone rightfully named!!!

"hopefully this guy will be back bringing home the bacon soon"

 

A lot of bacon will allow him to live high in the hog.

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17 minutes ago, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

 

so awesome that the punny jokes are coming from someone rightfully named!!!

"hopefully this guy will be back bringing home the bacon soon"

 

i figured if it was ever my time to swine shine, this would be it.

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13 minutes ago, GobbleDog said:

Day 4 and still alive! Tomorrow he'll try to hoof around his hospital room.

better than wallowing around feeling sorry for himself:dunno:

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