jtc78@ihuxm.UUCP (Mike Cherepov) (11/07/84)
I have to apologize before the baboons of the world. None of them could have created anything as pathetically absurd as Arndt's presentation about baby Fae. I appreciate Arndt because Arndt makes me feel good about myself, but I love truth even more. It is for that reason alone that I respond him. >Horror piles on horror in the name of love and compassion. We have just seen >a tiny baby used as an experiment - the baboon heart transplant. Previous intraspecies heart transplants were attempted with patients older then baby Fae: the first of the 4 previous attempts was done in 1964 on 68-year-old patient. So, you can observe that Arndt is moaning and wringing his hands in a wrong newsgroup. It has nothing to do with abortion. Moreover, it has not even been a baby-oriented activity. But that should not prevent him from being heard out - he has so much to say: > A medical >miracle!! Yeh. Saved her life! Really??? Really (according to people who know what they are talking about). She had hours left to live, initial corrective surgery in her case produces primarily little corpses (50 out of 100 attempts), subsequent corrective surgery attempts so far produced only one patient who appears to be "normal". So far she is doing as well as any of the survivors. There was some research to support the possibility of trans-species heart transplant, some 7 years of research. By the way: pig heart valves have been used to replace damaged human valves for last 14 years. I imagine how 14 years ago some idiots were expressing indignation towards procedure and its developers. History repeats itself. > How long can she live with the >heart of an animal that reaches not more than 50 - 60 lbs as an adult? Sorry, Charlie, I am again afraid you do not know what you are talking about There are many kinds of baboons. Mandrills, I heard, reach twice that weight. Do you know which one was used? It should be clear that donor's weight is not the most important factor in determining "how long". Some people who know what they are talking about (doctors) claim that the transplanted heart is the only one she will ever need. Others think it would last about 7 yrs. There are many factors. I understand, if it was a 500-600 lb. animal (gorilla or crocodile), you would not have that particular concern, but they did not know about you. > But >she can later receive a human heart you say? Well why not the first time??? There is nothing like an earnestly asked question. I'll tell ya. One in 2500 newborns has baby Fae's fatal disorder. Scarcity of the human infant donors is the major problem. It is hard to determine when newborns are brain-dead because their brains do not emit easily detectable signals --> is is hard to determine when it is ethically appropriate to remove their hearts. Human hearts ready for transplant on very short notice are SCARCE. Well, that's why. >Human hearts are/were available. There is some question as to if the good >doctors even looked! UNIPOLAR MAGNETS ARE SOLD HERE!!! What was available? Nothing was available that was was right for her! Even if there was, the number of babies who need those transplants greatly exceeds the demand. There is not enough SUITABLE human infant hearts, Arndt. They have to look for alternatives (that's why they did not look for human heart too hard). Finding suitable "human parts" is one of the biggest problems - or do you suppose Barney Clark's artificial heart was made just for fun? Some figures from reliable authority: 20,000 - 30,000 Americans die each year from deseases of heart, kidney, liver, who can be saved, given organs were available; about 2000 human organs are available annually. People do not donate more. Baby Fae not only has a reasonable shot (as experts think), but also her case gives hope to these people. Some see it as a beginning of a breakthrough that could make human organ donors obsolete. Who knows - little Arndts can be among beneficiaries. Uffffff. ---------------------------- Go ahead Arndt, make my day. Mike Cherepov