Science does not seek to manufacture the living dead, but it simply seeks to advance on the ability to revive organs… with methods that are at least questionable from an ethical point of view. As it happens, a pig saw his heart start again through a combination of methods. This is an interesting discovery for scientists, but the beasts did not survive. Explanations based on a publication published in the journal Nature.
The study took place at Yale University. Pigs underwent an operation which first consisted of stopping their hearts (killing them, therefore), to see if it was possible to restart their organs. Lhe blood stopped circulating in the hearts, and the cells that were deprived of oxygen therefore died.
After an hour’s break, the heart starts again
Ordinarily, organs that have undergone such an event are considered to be no longer viable. But this time, the researchers managed to make them start again after an hour’s breakby combining several methods: the heart was perfused with reoxygenated blood (which had been taken from the animal before the operation), and a mixture of 13 drugs called OrganEx. There are anticoagulants or synthetic hemoglobin.
Not only did the organ come back to life before their eyes, but in addition, the tissues regenerated in other organs which were therefore once again supplied by the heart. The cell death process was simply reversed thanks to this drug cocktail and this injection of reoxygenated blood. When analyzing the heart, they struggled to see the difference with a healthy heart.
Finally… For six hours only, because the organ didn’t hold any longer and the pig died. This discovery could (in the future) be interesting for increase the lifespan of grafts.
Source :
- Cellular recovery after prolonged warm ischaemia of the whole body, NatureAugust 3, 2022
