Man given genetically modified pig heart dies bbc.co.uk/news/health-60681493
Not a good development, he knew the r... - British Heart Fou...
Not a good development, he knew the risks but still.
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I think people should not be dispirited by this as the recipient had already been rejected for a human heart transplantation. When I was a youngster Christian Barnard's first recipient only survived 18 days but his second 19 months. Today Harefield Hamsters has many people who have survived over 30 years with 40 on the horizon. I personally think of it as a success but may be biased as I use porcine insulin...
Thanks for posting the link Ben. I was wondering how this went. Like the others say, for a first it's a big step forward. I hope we learn from this. I'm not sure how I feel about breeding animals for we humans to benefit from their organs, but I do eat meat, so I can't understand why I would have a moral dilemma???? I'm sure if it came to it.......
The problem with making an assessment as to whether this was a success or a failure is that the man was dying anyway. You can't carry out this sort of experimental procedure on someone that is in good health. I'm sure that valuable lessons have been learnt and for that reason alone, moral issues aside, it must be considered to have been a worthwhile venture.