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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday July 14 2020, @08:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the oink-oink dept.

Damaged Human Lungs Can Be Repaired by Attaching Them to Pigs, Experiment Shows:

The sad reality of terminal lung illnesses is that there are simply far more patients than there are donor lungs available. This isn't just because of the low number of donors, which would be problem enough, but many donor lungs are significantly damaged, rendering them unusable.

By using a new experimental technique, though, such a damaged lung has now been restored to function - by sharing its circulatory system with that of a living pig. This leverages the body's self-repair mechanisms to exceed the capabilities of current donor lung restoration techniques.

"It is the provision of intrinsic biological repair mechanisms over long-enough periods of time that enabled us to recover severely damaged lungs that cannot otherwise be saved," say the lead researchers, surgeon Ahmed Hozain and biomedical engineer John O'Neill of Columbia University.

[...] In 2017, O'Neill led the development of the xenogeneic (cross-species) cross-circulation platform. Last year, two of the researchers, biomedical engineer Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic of Columbia University and surgeon Matthew Bacchetta of the Vanderbilt Lung Institute, led a study in which they restored damaged pig lungs by attaching them to other pigs.

Earlier this year, the team extended the operation time of the platform to four days.

Now, the researchers have revealed that they have successfully used the same technique to repair five damaged human lungs by connecting them to pigs, including one severely injured lung that had failed to recover function using EVLP.

"We were able to recover a donor lung that failed to recover on the clinical ex vivo lung perfusion system, which is the current standard of care," Vunjak-Novakovic said. "This was the most rigorous validation of our cross-circulation platform to date, showing great promise for its clinical utility."

[...] It's not quite ready for clinical use, though. For one, the pigs could share things other than their blood. Like disease, for instance.

Because of this, any clinical use of the technique would require medical-grade animals, which would not be cheap - but it's nonetheless something that is under investigation for use in xenotransplantation, in which pigs' organs can be transplanted in human recipients. (This is currently being tested in baboons.)

The other option is that the human recipients themselves could potentially become the basis for the cross-circulation platform, being attached to the lungs they will themselves receive, and maybe even other kinds of organs one day.

"Modifications to the xenogeneic cross-circulation circuit could enable investigation and recovery of other human organs, including livers, hearts, kidneys and limbs," the researchers wrote in their paper.

"Ultimately, we envision that xenogeneic cross-circulation could be utilised as both a translational research platform to augment transplantation research and as a biomedical technology to help address the organ shortage by enabling the recovery of previously unsalvageable donor organs."

Journal Reference:
Ahmed E. Hozain, John D. O’Neill, Meghan R. Pinezich, et al. Xenogeneic cross-circulation for extracorporeal recovery of injured human lungs, Nature Medicine (DOI: 10.1038/s41591-020-0971-8)


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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by fustakrakich on Tuesday July 14 2020, @08:44PM (6 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday July 14 2020, @08:44PM (#1021464) Journal

    Or have a real long tube connected to your lungs. I mean, you don't want to have to carry him around in your arms.

    After you're healed, will you have the heart to eat him all at once?

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:42PM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:42PM (#1021524)

      Pretty soon penis damage will be fixable by transplanting it on Piglet for a few years.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:56PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:56PM (#1021536)

        Penis damage is very hard to fix, the vascular system of the penis is very delicate, especially the bits along the sides that give it the shape that it has. I half expect that we'll be able to replace the penis before we figure out how to repair one.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:31AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:31AM (#1021608)

          John Wayne Bobbitt?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:39AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:39AM (#1021619)

            I'm not a doctor, but in that case, the penis itself wasn't damaged, it was simply cut off, leaving the smaller, more delicate arteries largely unaffected by the cutting. Otherwise, it wouldn't have gotten back to normal.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:02PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:02PM (#1021541)

        David pig-violator Cameron, is that you?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:46AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:46AM (#1021706)

        Bonus: your bacon will taste like cock.

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @08:59PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @08:59PM (#1021471)

    On the plus side, when their suicide vest detonates you get instant bacon.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:18PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:18PM (#1021504)

      On the plus side, when their suicide vest detonates you get instant bacon bits.

  • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:10PM (12 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:10PM (#1021477)

    "Hey, you're gonna die unless you have this pig in your lap 24/7"

    Yeah, it's not housebroken and tends to shit/piss wherever but, hey, at least the pig doesn't smoke.

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:29PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:29PM (#1021485) Journal

      at least the pig doesn't smoke.

      Not yet [blains.com]

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:39PM (9 children)

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:39PM (#1021550) Journal

      FWIW, pigs can be house-trained.

      OTOH. many of them end up weighing over a ton when full grown. And I haven't heard of one being saddle trained.

      --
      Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:41AM

        by Immerman (3985) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:41AM (#1021583)

        I've seen kids riding pigs - I suspect a lack of saddle training has more to do with a lack of suitable saddles. And possibly a general unsuitability as a beast of burden - we tend to like such animals to be compliant and relatively stupid. And I've gotten the impression that pigs... generally aren't. They're also pretty short, which is inconvenient for adults to ride.

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:04AM (7 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:04AM (#1021643) Journal

        Over a ton, you say? I think you're exaggerating. I believe the largest pig I've ever seen was less than 600 pounds. The biggest feral pig I've ever heard of was supposed to be 900 pounds. I would need some documentation to believe in a one ton pig. Was that a short ton, a long ton, a metric ton, or a butt ton of pork?

        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:23AM (1 child)

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:23AM (#1021691) Journal

          Well, I'm not exaggerating, but the author may have been. It was an incidental note in a work of fiction ("The Man form P.I.G."). It was also well over a decade ago that I read it, so I could also have misremembered. (I *think* it was Harry Harrison, but I'm not even sure of that.)

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
        • (Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:33PM (4 children)

          by Muad'Dave (1413) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:33PM (#1021856)

          I didn't believe it either, but there was at least one [wikipedia.org] hog over a ton. There seem to be a lot of 1000+ lb ones.

          • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:00PM (3 children)

            by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:00PM (#1021872) Journal

            I don't know what I'd do if I met that in the woods. Remember, these guys are omnivores. Imagine getting between a sow half that size, and her piglets. You better be locked and loaded, with good reflexes and good aim!!

            • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:48PM (1 child)

              by RS3 (6367) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:48PM (#1021904)

              Can a human outrun a pig?

              • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @05:06PM

                by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @05:06PM (#1021992) Journal

                Yes, it's physically possible for a human to outrun a pig - sometimes. What are you running TO, is a good question. Most times, if it comes down to a running match, the smart money is on the hog.

            • (Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:31PM

              by cmdrklarg (5048) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:31PM (#1021966)

              My old man used to raise pigs on the farm. So I was vacating the farrowing crates of a few sows and their piglets to make room for the next group. This one sow was quite big (probably 500 lbs) and was an excellent mother. I got her out of the building into the trailer to bring her and her piglets to more free roaming pen. I went back to grab her piglets and as normal they squealed when I grabbed one. The sow came out of the trailer and came after me!

              Fortunately she was rather big and slow and I was young and agile at the time. After she settled down I got her back into the trailer, and closed the gate!

              --
              The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
    • (Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:18PM

      by ChrisMaple (6964) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:18PM (#1022055)

      at least the pig doesn't smoke

      https://comicvine.gamespot.com/dean/4005-57269/ [gamespot.com]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:15PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:15PM (#1021481)

    https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1191431.shtml [globaltimes.cn]
    http://en.nhc.gov.cn/2020-05/13/c_80132.htm [nhc.gov.cn]

    Seems pretty easy to find lungs to me. Just go to China, join the CCP, and they will find a Uyghur who is happy to give up theirs.

    https://www.thejournal.ie/organ-harvesting-china-3481690-Jul2017/ [thejournal.ie]
    https://www.healtheuropa.eu/forced-organ-harvesting-this-is-beyond-understanding/96933/ [healtheuropa.eu]

    You could probably get away with just being rich and from the west. The Uyghurs are always looking to help out those in need. One lung? Two lungs? Hearts? Livers? Kidneys? Don't worry about it, we have plenty!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:51PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:51PM (#1021495)

      I thought the US body parts business is a Jewish monopoly; mostly Palestinian parts though. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/nyregion/24jersey.html [nytimes.com]

      I wonder how are them compared to Chinese Muslims.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:56PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @11:56PM (#1021561)

        Either way you end up with Muslim parts, so you have to give up bacon or risk organ rejection.

  • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:26PM (18 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:26PM (#1021484) Homepage Journal

    As I understand it, transplanted lungs usually only prolong someone's life for around five years. Does that justify what sounds like some quite significant animal cruelty? I'm not convinced.

    --
    If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by legont on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:01PM (4 children)

      by legont (4179) on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:01PM (#1021497)

      Cancer treatment considered a success if it prolongs life for 6 months. I am sure covid will get the same morality base.

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by choose another one on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:07AM (2 children)

        by choose another one (515) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:07AM (#1021565)

        Covid already has a different morality base, namely: "it only kills people with pre-existing conditions, which means they were going to die soon anyway".

        Now, actually, it doesn't, it only mostly kills those people and the vast majority of people with "pre-existing conditions" aren't going to die any time soon, unless they get covid, BUT the real kicker is this:

        If Covid doesn't kill you it can still (and, it seems, very frequently does in those who are hospitalised) leave you with one or all of:
        * lung damage (for fun, look up the prognosis and life expectancy for pulmonary fibrosis)
        * kidney damage (oh good, dialysis for life, maybe not for long though...)
        * nuked pancreas (yup, type 1 diabetes)
        * permanent heart damage
        ...and a bunch of other stuff

        Now, when Covid comes around again, as it surely will because the world is full of fuckwits spreading it because trying not to infringes their freedoms, it'll be no problem because the survivors will be immune. Er, nope, not looking like it, looking like immunity is 3-6 months, maybe a year, maybe if we're really really lucky 2-3years like SARS-1. Think our species will have acquired a clue, globally, by then? - er, nope, so no immunity.

        When those survivors get it again, they will now have a "pre-existing condition" - look at the list of what covid leaves you with, and look up the will-probably-die-of-covid risk factors. Surviving it is just the start of your problems, when it comes round for another bite you have to survive it again, and maybe again and again. Think common cold, but much much more deadly.

        So.... the punchline is, when those survivors get it again, and are much much more likely to die, they won't matter, because... "they had a pre-existing condition, which means they were going to die soon anyway".

        • (Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:28AM

          by legont (4179) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:28AM (#1021576)

          When I was a kid long time ago it was, pneumonia was considered a chronic disease. Whoever got it was way more likely to get it again; reasons unknown.
          I expect this one to be the same. All the "survivors", regardless of age, will die relatively soon.

          --
          "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:37AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:37AM (#1021616)

          Stupidity is a pre-existing condition.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:42AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:42AM (#1021621)

        Depending upon the type, that could be a doubling of the life expectency when diagnosed. My Uncle was diagnosed with leukemia near the end of February and died the first of the next July, which was like 4 months later. But for less aggressive cancers, like my mother's breast cancer which took the cells they missed the first time roughly 16 years to divide enough to be detectable again, 6 months would be an absolutely ridiculous yardstick to use.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:06PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:06PM (#1021499)

      So we can turn the pig into bacon, but not use them for growing or repairing human organs?

      All pigs are bastards. Fuck them.

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:24PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:24PM (#1021508)

        Yeah, fuck the pigs. #BLM

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:50PM (6 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:50PM (#1021530)

      Considering that the main other use for pigs is food and leather, this doesn't really seem so bad.

      In the longterm, I'm sure they're going to work on figuring out how to build a machine that can keep these organs in good working order until they're ready for implantation. There are a number of reasons why that would be preferable including being able to have a couple of the machines on hand, increased predictability about the outcome and reduced chances of their being some infectious agent that slipped by the screening process.

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:13AM (5 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:13AM (#1021653) Journal

        build a machine that can keep these organs in good working order

        The pig isn't keeping the lung in good working order. The pig is repairing damaged lungs. I really don't think we have any machines that can repair damaged organs yet.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:44AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:44AM (#1021705)

          We also don't have ones that can maintain them as is at the present time, that would really be the first step. Once we've got ones that can maintain them as is, then there's the possibility of repairing them.

          It kind of reminds me of that person with the heart that received a temporary artificial one to take the strain off the actual heart. The heart did heal itself to some extent when it wasn't being stressed as much. No idea to what extent that could apply here, but both the lungs and the heart get basically no time off, they both have to be going constantly or you lose consciousness and die pretty quickly.

        • (Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:40PM (3 children)

          by Muad'Dave (1413) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:40PM (#1021860)

          It may be as simple as taking a large quantity of fresh pig blood, keeping it oxygenated, and perfusing the organ with it. Since the treatment is only 24 hours, all the necessary repair factors may be present in sufficient quantity in the blood itself. You may have to add immunosuppressors.

          • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:05PM (2 children)

            by RS3 (6367) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:05PM (#1021915)

            What you're suggesting is what has been done for many years:

            FTFA: "The underlying principle is similar to an existing donor lung restoration technique called ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), which involves placing a lung in a sterile dome attached to a ventilator, pump, and filters."

            and had been done on the experimental lungs, including a set that were very damaged but mostly recovered after the pig connection.

            This new experiment suggests that there's likely higher level of repair being done by the pig's systems (seems obvious to me anyway) like liver, kidneys, endocrines, nutrients, on and on.

            Also FTFA, the pigs had to be immunosuppressed (of course). For control they did not immunosuppress one pig and those lungs developed inflammation, clots, low O2 sat., etc.- all typical signs of rejection.

            • (Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Thursday July 16 2020, @11:32AM (1 child)

              by Muad'Dave (1413) on Thursday July 16 2020, @11:32AM (#1022357)

              You left off the most important part of your quote [pennmedicine.org]: "... and treated with a bloodless solution that contains nutrients, proteins, and oxygen."

              My contention is that by using actual blood from a pig, the additional curative factors in play may already be present without the need for the rest of the pig, particularly if you use a 'once-thru' (or perhaps just a few passes thru) process instead of recycling and re-oxygenating the blood continuously.

              • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday July 16 2020, @02:08PM

                by RS3 (6367) on Thursday July 16 2020, @02:08PM (#1022398)

                Thanks, and what you wrote makes sense.

                For the record, I did not leave anything off: I quoted from TFA. You got more from another source, and that's great.

                Again, I get where you're going; I'm suggesting maybe there's a dynamic process happening. Maybe the liver, or something else, or many things in the pig, are responding to something- trace enzyme, or who knows (I'm not a biologist) that's triggering a "produce a repair enzyme (or whatever it is)" response.

                A great example is infection. There's a normal range for white cell count in blood analysis. So my blood won't help someone who has an infection but has a weak immune system. And the infection doesn't have to be blood-borne, but somehow something the infection gives off (enzymes?) triggers a response in the immune system.

                If I'm right, and researchers can figure out what the lung-healing enzymes (or whatever it is) are, then we shouldn't have to connect to a live pig.

    • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:53AM (3 children)

      by Immerman (3985) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:53AM (#1021591)

      How is it animal cruelty if the animal is unconscious? Would you feel better if they butchered it after it had outlived its usefulness as an organ host? Then it could live the normal life of a pig - be born, grow to adolescence, get butchered to provide a bit of temporary life extension to humans (aka food - factory-farmed pigs are such an overwhelming majority that they define normal). Only instead of immediately being butchered it could spend a few days or weeks deeply unconscious, providing many years of additional human life extension. I suspect that lab-grade pigs would live a marginally less miserable brief life than factory-farmed pigs as well.

      • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday July 15 2020, @05:34PM (2 children)

        by acid andy (1683) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @05:34PM (#1022003) Homepage Journal

        How is it animal cruelty if the animal is unconscious?

        I skim-read TFA and didn't find any mention of them being unconscious. I didn't look any further than that.

        I suspect that lab-grade pigs would live a marginally less miserable brief life than factory-farmed pigs as well.

        That's not much of a defense. I think factory farming of animals is horrendous. At least you're acknowledging the possibility of some degree of misery. Most labs I've seen with conscious animals seemed to house them in pretty sparse, small areas.

        --
        If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
        • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:05PM (1 child)

          by Immerman (3985) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:05PM (#1022050)

          > The five lungs in the experiment were attached via a jugular cannula to anaesthetised pigs that had been immunosuppressed,...

          And really it seems pretty mandatory - a conscious pig is going to be moving, and would likely damage the connection to the lung.

          >That's not much of a defense.
          I agree, however it's the unfortunate reality of the life of pigs. So long as factory farming of millions of pigs is permitted for the pleasure of eating pork, criticizing similar conditions for a few hundred animals to saves someone's life is deeply hypocritical. And as cramped and miserable as a lab environment is likely to be, it's still likely to be better than a tiny pen where they have to lie in their own excrement.

          • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:56PM

            by acid andy (1683) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:56PM (#1022073) Homepage Journal

            > The five lungs in the experiment were attached via a jugular cannula to anaesthetised pigs that had been immunosuppressed,...

            Thanks. I missed that bit. If they're anaesthetised in the lab, it remains an open question how long they are confined there before that happens.

            So long as factory farming of millions of pigs is permitted for the pleasure of eating pork, criticizing similar conditions for a few hundred animals to saves someone's life is deeply hypocritical.

            I agree, but since I'm strongly opposed to factory farming, I'm not sure how such hypocrisy is relevant.

            --
            If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:26PM (#1021512)

    Fuck that.

    Bacon is life.

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:52PM (7 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:52PM (#1021533) Journal

    I mean, a lung needs to be repaired. You can't just go out to the pig farm, leave a lung, and come back in a week to pick it up?

    • (Score: 2) by Opportunist on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:01AM (2 children)

      by Opportunist (5545) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:01AM (#1021562)

      And in the meantime you breathe through your spleen or what's the plan? I don't know about you, but holding my breath for a week could be difficult.

      • (Score: 2) by choose another one on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:15AM (1 child)

        by choose another one (515) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:15AM (#1021572)

        He said _a_ lung, most people have two, so, logically if you act when you only have one lung damaged you could breathe with the other one while your damaged one is being repaired at the pig farm.

        'course that's not what TFA is actually about, the idea is that you die first (and therefore don't _need_ to breathe), your damaged lungs are left at the pig farm for repair and are then given, nice and shiny like new, to someone else to breathe with. But RunAway probably knows that.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:30AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @07:30AM (#1021763)

          He said _a_ lung, most people have two, so

          ... if you need one lung repaired with help of a pig because you are too weak yourself, it probably means that removing a lung would kill you.

          Secondly, lung transplants are a MAJOR surgery that has MAJOR consequences, like needing fluid removed from your lungs because all the proper nerve connections are now fucked up. A lung is not cutting off your finger and attaching it to a foot. It actually is a very complicated organ.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:49AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @01:49AM (#1021627)

      You've got two of them, other than the fact that having a lung removed and replaced both being major operations, there's no inherent reason why it couldn't be done. In practice, I doubt it would ever be done just because of the risk involved of having two surgeries in a relatively short period of time.

    • (Score: 2) by Kitsune008 on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:30AM

      by Kitsune008 (9054) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:30AM (#1021660)

      No.
      You need to keep the pig company while it's attached and doing repairs.
      I'd suggest packing along some lipstick(for the pig), and a supply of booze and condoms(for you), to make the week go by more pleasantly. ;-)

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:52AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @03:52AM (#1021711)

      I mean, a lung needs to be repaired. You can't just go out to the pig farm, leave a lung, and come back in a week to pick it up?

      No of course not! You have to fuck the beast in its sorry ass then stab a metal straw in its neck, drink out its blood and announce domination over all of nature. That is the path to healing.

  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:08AM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:08AM (#1021566)

    It's not quite ready for clinical use, though. For one, the pigs could share things other than their blood. Like disease, for instance.

    "Meet our new guy. He's been around the block a few times and we can trust him."
    "I dunno man. He looks tough, but I smell bacon."
    "Dat's right! He got stabbed through the lung and he had to recover on a farm upstate for a while."

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @12:32AM (#1021578)
    That'll do I can breathe, pig, I can breathe.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:46AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @02:46AM (#1021673)

    Had an episode where his lungs where harvested
    https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Phage_(episode) [fandom.com]

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