Lead surgeon, Bartley Griffith, exclaimed “the heart fired right up.” And with that as testimony, the world’s first “successful” transplant of an animal heart into a human was performed. The heart was that of a pig; the other “pig” — the human guinea pig variety — a 57-year-old gentleman (a former violent felon, actually) by the name of David Bennett.
Bennett had end-stage heart disease and as of this writing his heart oinks no more. He has given up his mortal coil, along with the genetically modified organ which had so benevolently kept body and soul together for all of 61 days — yet deemed a success.
As the lines between science fiction and reality have been blurred, so have the lines between species — nonhuman and human. We are left to wonder what drives the passions of those in the lab coats responsible for blurring these lines. After all, we are not talking about the commercialization of lab cultured meat such as that coming from Upside Foods. These are vital organs, hearts and kidneys, harvested to take the place of our own. Martine Rothblatt, CEO of United Therapeutics, distills their vision: “Just like we keep cars and planes and buildings going forever with an unlimited supply of building and machine parts, why can’t we create an unlimited supply of transplantable organs to keep people living indefinitely?”
Animal organ transplants didn’t get their start with pigs. A baboon was the unwilling heart donor back in 1984 — its heart transplanted into Baby Fae who survived a scant few days. The human body will naturally reject a pig’s heart. Enter the wonders of genetic engineering. Six human genes were inserted into the pig’s genome to prevent rejection of the pig’s heart, and four of the pig’s genes were inactivated. In addition, an experimental drug was used to suppress Bennett’s immune system.
I would prefer to think that the intellectual heavyweights reconfiguring the genetic structure set aside some of their waking hours to broach the subject with their rabbis, their pastors or a secular moral traffic cop of their choosing. Anything or anyone to keep the frenzy of scientific curiosity in check. With some 3,500 Americans on the waitlist for a heart transplant, why on earth would I be waving yellow flags? How dare I question the motives of those on the front lines of medicine, valiantly trying to extend life?
Perhaps because of a movie scene that keeps replaying in my mind: in Young Frankenstein, Marty Feldman confesses to have taken the brain of “Abbey Normal,” the very brain Gene Wilder transplanted into the monster. Or perhaps of something more sobering: anxious investors have already sunk hundreds of millions into the animal organ harvesting industry and demand a “hearty” return on investment. Employees at eGenesis, who recently had their coffers filled with an additional $100 million investment, proudly wear t-shirts emblazoned with the company motto: “this pig might save your bacon.” So, you’ll excuse me for prying into the motives of companies like Smithfield — now boasting the largest sow harvesting facility in North America, and United Therapeutics, featuring their newly patented “xenoheart.”
At more than $1 million for a single xenotransplant procedure, that’s some premium bacon! And the sumptuous profits are not confined to hearts. American eating habits and lifestyles have done more chronic damage to kidneys. 340,000 Americans are kept alive with kidney dialysis and the queue for a kidney transplant winds its way around the corner to 74,000 and counting. The collective annual Medicare tab alone for dialysis runs to $28 billion.
Who knows — the universe’s playing cards might deal me the need for an organ transplant. Then what? Would I be left lying in pain on some gurney, pleading with a surgeon to prioritize me? Only to have her cross her arms in dismay, “We’re certain you can benefit, Mr. Broadman. But then again, there is that column you authored back in 2023. Perhaps you’ve had a change of heart?”
After years of globetrotting, Broadman finds himself writing from his perch on the Palouse and loving the view. His policy briefs can be found at US Renew News: usrenewnews.org.
