The Muslim Doctor Behind the First Cocaine-laced Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant

[Jilly_in_VA]

When Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin was growing up in the seaside city of Karachi in Pakistan, the word “pig” was taboo at home. Mentioning it even accidentally would have him punished and told to wash his mouth.

“My mother used to make me gargle,” Mohiuddin told VICE World News. “It was a big no-no in my family. It was forbidden in our home.” Mohiuddin would even accompany his father and brother to hunt wild pigs outside the bustling metropolis, in rural areas of the Sindh province.

Fast-forward decades and now the doctor is one of the pioneers behind the first genetically modified pig heart to be transplanted into a human body.

The groundbreaking surgery took place in the first week of the year at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Mohiuddin is their director of cardiac xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting a living heart from one species to another.

Led by Mohiuddin and Bartley P. Griffith, the director of the center’s cardiac transplant program, the latest procedure used a heart from a genetically altered pig supplied by Swedish biotech company Revivicor, and a rare immunosuppressive agent. The recipient of the heart is a 57-year-old man, currently in recovery.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/88g5ya/muslim-doctor-first-pig-to-human-heart-transplant-cocaine
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Please do not use this thread to bash religion or argue "animal rights". Thank you.

[ck4829]

1. Incredible. May this go on to eliminate the need for organ wait lists.

[Archae]

2. "Cocaine-laced?"

What do you mean by this?

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. Please read the whole article.

Thank you.

[Archae]

4. A minute amount of cocaine.

Cocaine is still used in certain medical procedures, I had it squirted into my nose once to stop heavy nosebleeds.

[Mazeltov Cocktail]

5. That was done to me as a child...

I had fairly frequent nose bleeds, the Dr. dipped a swab in a vial labeled "liquid cocaine" and swabbed my nostrils. This was done a couple of times. Years later, my friends thought I was making this up😅...

[iemanja]

6. From the article

The scientific reasons behind the efficacy of the cocaine and hormone solution in preserving and treating harvested hearts is unknown. However, Mohiuddin found that it effectively prevents heart failure during transplants.

“When we were not using this solution, we were getting failures within 48 hours. But when we started using this and infusing the heart with this solution, the heart became well preserved and started beating very well," he said.

[Wounded Bear]

7. Cool story...

and you won't get any flack from me, either religious or PETA based.

I'm all in on procedures that help save/extend human life.