Lesson Overview

Featured Article: In a First, Man Receives a Heart From a Genetically Altered Pig by Roni Caryn Rabin

On Jan. 7, doctors in Maryland successfully transplanted a pigs heart into a human. The breakthrough may lead one day to new supplies of animal organs for transplant into human patients, Roni Caryn Rabin writes.

In this lesson, you will learn about the groundbreaking procedure and consider its place within the greatest medical advancements in history. In Going Further activities, we invite you to research other recent medical breakthroughs and to speculate on how far the field of medicine might extend life.

What, in your opinion, are the greatest medical achievements of all time?

With a partner or small group, brainstorm medical innovations and advances throughout history, such as aspirin, Band-Aids, X-rays, contraceptives and the recent coronavirus vaccine. Which do you think have made the biggest impact, whether by reducing pain, suffering and disease; giving comfort; or extending human life?

Then, choose one advancement from your list and make a one-minute case to the rest of the class for why it could be the single greatest medical achievement of all time.

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. Why was an eight-hour surgery in Baltimore on Jan. 7 global news? In your own words, describe what happened and why you believe it is making headlines around the world.

2. Understand the importance of organ replacement by finding some numbers in this article: How many Americans received a transplanted organ last year? How many people received human donor hearts last year? How many people are waiting for kidneys and other organs? And how many people on lists waiting for organs die each day? Taken together, what do these numbers tell you about the need for organ replacements in this country?

3. Who is David Bennett Sr. and why did he decide to gamble on the experimental treatment? Would you ever consider participating in a risky and experimental trial like Mr. Bennett did?

4. The article states that xenotransplantation, the process of grafting or transplanting organs or tissues from animals to humans, has a long history. Which examples from the article did you find most fascinating or significant?

5. Why a pig heart? What advantages do pigs offer over other animals for organ procurements?

6. Dr. David Klassen, the chief medical officer of the United Network for Organ Sharing and a transplant physician, called the news of the successful transplant a watershed event. Do you agree? How significant do you think it is? Return to your list from the warm up. Where would you place this pioneering surgery, or organ transplants more generally, on your list of greatest medical achievements?

7. Do you think that the use of animal organs for human transplants will become commonplace in the next 10 or 20 years? Should they? What ethical questions and concerns, if any, does the article raise for you?

Option 1: Learn more about other medical advances.

A mechanical womb to grow mouse embryos. A drug that brings drastic weight loss to patients with obesity. An unexpected key to understanding hair loss. These are just a few of the recent medical innovations and breakthroughs covered by The Times.

Choose one of the articles below or search for one that grabs your interest on the Timess Health topic page. Then, write or discuss with a partner: What is your reaction to the article? What was the most fascinating, surprising, provocative or memorable thing you learned? What questions do you still have about the scientific breakthrough you read about?

Option 2: Share your thoughts and opinions: How long can medical advancements extend life?

Last century, the average human life expectancy doubled. Medical and social advances such as the development of antibiotics and vaccines reduced childhood deaths, mitigated diseases of old age and vastly prolonged life. In Can We Live to 200?, Nicholas St. Fleur, Chloe Williams and Charlie Wood presented 43 advances that could radically extend life spans over the next 100 years. Look at the interactive timeline, then respond to the following prompts:

Which scientific advancements and breakthroughs in the article do you most look forward to? Which do you think will most likely come to fruition?

By 2100, how long might people be able to live? Do you think humans will reach the ages of 130, 150 or even 200?

Does the possibility of radical life extension intrigue, surprise, excite or even scare you? Would you want to live to 200? How long would you want to live, if you could choose your life span?

If you are interested in joining a conversation with other students, share your thoughts in our related Student Opinion prompt.

Additional Teaching and Learning Opportunities:

Learn more about the science behind the story: Read Heres How Scientists Pulled Off the First Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant from Science.org, which details how the effort involved genetic engineering, an experimental drug and cocaine. How did the article add to or change your understanding of the first successful transplant of a pigs heart into a human? What was most interesting or surprising? What questions do you still have?

Explore bioethical issues further: The Times later reported that Mr. Bennett Sr. had a criminal record stemming from an assault 34 years ago in which he repeatedly stabbed a young man, leaving him paralyzed. The victims brother and people on social media expressed outrage and questioned the choice to select Mr. Bennett as the recipient of the pioneering transplant procedure. However, Karen J. Maschke, a research scholar at the Hastings Center and the editor of the journal Ethics & Human Research, said, Theres a longstanding standard in medical ethics that physicians dont pick and choose who they treat. Read the article and give your reaction: How should we decide who receives a lifesaving treatment? Should a patients history affect the decision? Why or why not?

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Lesson of the Day:In a First, Man Receives a Heart From a Genetically Altered Pig - The New York Times