Kunming City, First People's Hospital.
In the usually spacious operating room, the crowd was as dense as an onion ring, clustering the operating table in the center.
The surgical directors occupied the C seats next to the operating table, while the deputy directors squeezed into the most ample space nearby. The attending doctors could only compete for the best view in front of the big screen.
After finally confirming their position, everyone's eyes lit up, with expressions of anticipation on their faces.
On the operating table in the center, a patient in his 50s was lying in a deep coma, unresponsive to external stimulation.
This is a brain-dead patient who is dedicating the afterglow of his life to medical progress.
There was an operating table next to him, with an anesthetized piglet lying on its side.
Since the patient is brain-dead and the body does not have any autonomous responses, it naturally does not require anesthesia and can better observe the intraoperative and postoperative effects.
The surgeon first came to Xiaozhu, skillfully cut open his waist, took out a fist-sized human kidney, then turned around and quickly came to the patient.
This kidney is placed in a stainless steel container. Since it is only connected outside the body, it has not waited until it is fully developed and is smaller in size.
Next, with the help of another surgeon, the two connected the patient's thigh and abdominal lateral blood vessels to the small kidney.
The moment when the blood vessel clamp is released and blood supply to the kidneys is restored.
Everyone looked at the restored pink kidney in front of them and couldn't help but cheered loudly.
The surgeon placed a transparent protective cover on the container, breathed a sigh of relief, and announced the successful completion of the operation.
"Very good. This kidney looks normal. There is a high chance of success."
Director Cui stood next to the surgeon and said with relief.
"The next step is to see how long it takes to urinate." As soon as Director Wu of the Department of Urology finished speaking, he heard a thin sound of water flowing.
Everyone turned their attention to the urine bag and found that almost instantly, a large pool of liquid flowed out of the urinary tube.
"This... is so fast." Someone exclaimed.
Before anyone else could speak, Director Wu shouted with ecstasy.
"Quickly, take the excrement and test the creatinine content."
Everyone nodded after hearing this. As long as the kidneys start to produce urine and can excrete waste creatinine, this is a sign of good kidney function.
The nurse hurriedly removed the urine bag for testing.
Others took turns to come forward and curiously looked at the normally functioning external kidney under the transparent cover, and then left one by one with excitement.
Everyone knows that as long as the transplanted kidney is connected to the human blood vessel, no rejection reaction occurs immediately, and the kidney can urinate normally, the experiment is half successful.
Because if it is an unprocessed pig kidney, or a completely mismatched human kidney, it is impossible to survive for three hours, let alone three days, if it is inserted into a human body.
At high speed, hyperacute rejection can cause complete organ necrosis in just a few minutes.
Even if a transplant is really performed, it may not even take time to suture the skin before you can see the kidneys begin to turn black.
Not only does this kidney have a normal pink color, which is a sign of abundant blood supply, but it can even urinate immediately, indicating that there is no problem with its functionality. It is filtering excretion waste in the body as soon as it is connected to the blood vessels.
Next, it depends on how long the patient can hold on.
Soon, the biochemical test results came out.
Creatinine was detected in the patient's urine.
In the following three days, the kidneys continued to work normally. Not only did the patient not experience rejection, but his body's creatinine and blood potassium levels also dropped to normal levels.
This news finally made the doctors feel relieved.
Because the effect was better than expected, the experimental time was extended to 72 hours.
During this time, the patient stayed in a separate ward in the ICU. When the time was up, the external kidney was cleanly removed from the blood vessel.
The whole process went very smoothly and provided a wealth of data for subsequent clinical research.
The results were surprising, ruling out hyperacute rejection and confirming the functionality of the implanted organ.
Although data on acute rejection within 3 months and chronic rejection within six months to one year are not yet available, all participants in the experiment are optimistic about the future.
After all, the organ shortage for transplant surgery is so huge that any breakthrough in this field will make people excited.
****
Joining the medical community in excitement is the press.
The world's first human transplant with an organ. Although it was not transplanted into the body, it was at least connected to the human body.
This is a huge breakthrough and definitely eye-catching.
So the major media came after hearing the news, and after some interviews, they published the report overnight.
"Shocking! Human kidneys grown in pigs have been transplanted into humans for the first time!"
"With this historic breakthrough in the field of organ transplantation, we no longer have to worry about kidney failure."
"Sanqing has led the Chinese medical community to achieve great achievements, eliminating the lag in the field of organ transplantation in our country!"
Faced with such shocking news, Internet influencers naturally did not hesitate to forward it and compete for traffic.
A medical celebrity named Mars Garden published a long article in which he lovingly expressed his praise for Sanqing, which once detonated the entire Internet.
"What you may not know is that the development of organ transplantation in my country is very backward. Due to the influence of traditional Confucian concepts, the concept of cardiopulmonary death is deeply rooted in the minds of the Chinese people, making it difficult to promote brain death legislation."
"The introduction of foreign brain death standards is largely due to the promotion of organ transplantation."
"Because it is difficult to transplant organs after a person stops breathing for 15 minutes, the development of organ transplantation has always relied on brain-dead patients to provide organs to a large extent. It can be said that without the determination of brain death, there will be no real human body Organ transplant.”
"There are currently more than 1.5 million uremia patients in our country, but only 5,000 kidney transplants can be performed every year. More than 1 million patients need liver transplants every year, but only about 10,000 people can actually perform the surgery."
“Such a huge organ transplant gap is caused by the lack of brain death legislation.”
"However, brain death is actually a double-edged sword for organ transplantation. Many people are worried that once the recognition of brain death is relaxed, a large number of ethical issues will arise, leading to illegal organ transplantation becoming common practice."
"Like euthanasia, brain death legislation is also a dual problem of medical ethics and law."
"Fortunately, Sanqing has made new breakthroughs in the field of organ transplantation. Patients who need organ transplants in the future can obtain human organs directly from pigs, eliminating the pain of waiting."
"Such an achievement can not be overstated at all in terms of saving lives and healing the wounded, and creating Buddhas for thousands of families."
“Let us look forward to the day when Sanqing’s transplanted organs enter clinical practice!”
As soon as this article came out, it was forwarded like crazy and went straight to the top of the hot search list.
Netizens talked a lot and expressed their opinions, which even caused quite a bit of controversy.
"I really didn't expect that the relationship between brain death and organ transplantation is so strong."
"I always thought that when a person dies, their organs are freshest and most suitable for transplantation. It turns out that's not the case."
"Do you think brain death means real death? I don't think so. A relative of mine died after being brain-dead and lying in the ward for more than half a year."
"Upstairs, are you confusing brain death with vegetative state? The two are completely different, okay?"
"Now more and more people are donating organs, which may alleviate some of the pressure."
"I feel like we still can't let go of the brain death legislation. Who knows if someone will be targeting us and something unexpected will happen."
"Stop conspiracy theories. As long as you don't donate your organs, you'll be fine."
"I'm just an old piece of bacon anyway, so I don't have to worry about anyone looking at my organs."
"Didn't I say that Sanqing has already developed the idea of using pigs to grow organs? Then we don't have to worry about having our waists cut off in the future."
"Sanqing is awesome and can save many patients with organ failure who are waiting for transplants."
"My brother has uremia. He has been waiting in line for an organ at a young age. He has been waiting for six years. I don't know when he will be able to get one. I hope that Sanqing technology will enter clinical practice as soon as possible."
"I'm afraid it will take a long time. Judging from the news, it has not been transplanted into the human body. It has only been tested externally to see if it can be used. Compared with real organ transplantation, it is still far away."
"Yeah, I thought it was inside the body. If it's outside the body, it's not as good as Sanqing's artificial kidney. That one is more practical and cheaper."
"It is a good thing that technology has progressed. Experiments are done step by step and are worthy of encouragement. Come on Sanqing!"
"Yes, Qin destroyed the six kingdoms one by one, so take your time."
"I can predict that the emergence of this technology in the future will definitely bring about some social problems. For example, protests from extreme animal rights activists and religious conservatives, smear reports related to black industry interests, and social concerns about transplantation. People who grow pig organs are discriminated against, and other issues.”
"Fast forward to biopunk, flesh and blood regenerated!"
"I am the only one who cares about whether the meat of this gene-edited pig is delicious?"
"So if I remove the organs, can I take other parts of the pig home and eat them?"
"Upstairs, this kind of pig is specially bred. It is very different from ordinary pigs. It is best not to eat it. There are human cells in some parts. Although there are few, they are not absent."
"Damn it, I'm scared to death. I don't dare to eat."
"If I were a religious person, I wouldn't be able to doubt the world."
"Humans and pigs are one, and heaven has given great responsibilities to pigs and humans."
"With this technology, there is a high probability that something terrible will happen. DNA is a very miraculous substance. Are you really not afraid that pig DNA will enter the human body and backfire?"
"Uh, that's too much to think about. You eat pork every day, and you haven't seen your DNA turn into pig's?"
"The clones are ecstatic. A pig will die for them, and they are no longer afraid of having their waists cut off."
"Yes, pigs don't smoke, drink, or eat junk food. They are still cultured in a sterile laboratory. The kidneys grown on them will definitely be healthier than my original kidneys that have been tortured."
"In the past, when scientists studied pig kidney transplantation, I always felt that it was not very reliable. Now that they have developed human kidneys, I feel that it is much more reliable."
*******
Kunming City, Sanqing Headquarters.
The news of the successful operation naturally reached Wei Kang's ears immediately.
If he can maintain extracorporeal dialysis for three days, for him, the clinical trial has taken the first step.
Although it is the first step in a hundred steps, it is enough to soothe people's hearts.
It seems that the next step of in vivo transplantation trials in brain-dead patients can begin.
While I was deep in thought, suddenly the cell phone on the table rang.
As soon as the call was connected, Wang Guiqing's familiar laughter came from inside.
"Mr. Health, I heard that Sanqing's organ transplant project has made great progress in clinical research, which is really gratifying."
Wei Kang couldn't help but feel a move in his heart. He wondered what the superiors thought about brain death legislation.
If internal organ transplantation could be performed directly on brain-dead patients in China, he would not have to travel all the way to Eagle Country to do it.
Thinking of this, he immediately asked: "Mr. Wang, I have a question that I would like to ask you."
"We have now grown human organs in pigs, but clinical research has been unable to progress smoothly."
"The difficulty lies mainly in preclinical research. Xenogeneic organ transplantation requires an intermediate process, that is, the effectiveness and safety must be proven in brain-dead patients before transplantation can be performed on normal patients."
"However, the acceptance of brain death in our country is relatively low, let alone organ donation. Conspiracy theories are flying everywhere."
"It is precisely because of this that domestic research on organ transplantation lags behind that of foreign countries. Now we in Sanqing are encountering the same problem. Is there any good way to solve the problem?"
Wang Guiqing's face instantly became solemn. In fact, he understood the above meaning and must fully support such a major experiment.
but--
Under the influence of Confucianism for thousands of years, most Chinese people can only accept the cardiopulmonary death concept.
Not to mention, brain death is closely linked to organ transplantation.
Many people may appear to be very liberal and do not oppose organ transplantation, but instead respect the blessings very much.
But as soon as it comes to me, the ancestral law is irreversible, and I must be buried with all my body and tail. Even cremation is hard to accept.
If brain death legislation is introduced rashly, it will inevitably have a huge impact and shock on the entire society.
Wang Guiqing thought for a moment and said slowly.
"Mr. Wei, I understand your thoughts very well, but we must also consider that the overall cultural level of our people is not high enough. It may be difficult to implement brain death standards nationwide, and it may even arouse everyone's resentment. "
"On the other hand, even if the patient is brain dead, the family may not be able to accept organ donation, so we still need to consider the long term."
"However, within a small area and under certain circumstances, it can be implemented."
"Small range and specific circumstances? What does this mean?" Wei Kang asked doubtfully.
"For those who have signed an organ donation agreement, if they become brain dead, special measures can be taken and the criteria for determining brain death can be used. There is no need to wait until they die completely before donating."
Wang Guiqing explained: “This can also be regarded as a flexible application of policies and regulations, and a strong support for clinical medical technology.”
"what do you think?"
"This..." Wei Kang suddenly understood.
After all, it still depends on public opinion. If the patient is voluntary, that is naturally excellent. If the patient is not voluntary, public opinion cannot be coerced.
This condition seems to open the door to convenience, but it requires organ donation and brain death at the same time. How can such patients be so easy to find?
After waiting for ten days and a half, I don’t know if there will be any cases.
It is not as convenient as abroad. After the legislation of brain death, organ transplantation has become extremely developed. As long as you spend enough money, you can find sufficient donors.
However, he also knew in his heart that he was doing this for everyone's benefit. If he could handle something special, it would be regarded as full support.
Wei Kang smiled and said, "Then I would like to thank Mr. Wang for his kindness."
After chatting casually for a few more words, he hung up the phone.
He looked at the news push and found that this matter had already caused a stir on the Internet, so he clicked on it.
Netizens were chatting lively, and their voices were full of praise. Many family members of patients who were waiting for organ transplants were even complaining.
As he watched, a crazy idea suddenly flashed through Wei Kang's mind.
"Since everyone is so optimistic, I hope Sanqing will make a breakthrough in organ transplantation as soon as possible."
"Clinical research needs the support of brain-dead patients and their families to proceed smoothly."
"Then why don't I just ask the general public directly and see what they think?"
"This is a major matter that benefits all citizens, so naturally we need to seek their opinions."
"When you encounter difficulties, you should also seek their help."
"If they don't think it's possible, then I can only do overseas clinical work first."
"If there are enough people who support Sanqing, then maybe I can find willing patients among the huge crowd."
"For the country and the people, for the people and me, no matter how you look at it, this wave will not be a loss!"
Once this idea comes up, it can no longer be suppressed.
With excitement, Wei Kang quickly typed out a paragraph and posted it on Langbo's personal account.
In an instant, it caused an uproar.
