Well, I guess there's more than one way to bring home the bacon! :o)

Does sound interesting, though I wonder about all the meds one would have to take so your body doesn't reject it, how long your projected lifespan would be afterwards, etc. etc. Time to do some reading....

IMO, I think ones that hold a great deal of promise are stem cell and genetic research. Perhaps not in my lifetime, but for those that follow.....

Hugs,
Joni

My daughter had to have the mitral valve in her heart replaced last summer, and she now has a pig valve. She is doing great and is now training for a half marathon. There was no mention of rejection possibilities, but she did have to take a handful of meds to keep her heart rate slow and easy and her blood thin to avoid clots. They used to replace heart valves with mechanical ones, which meant blood thinners for ever so the pig valve is better because the blood thinners are only needed for a little while. The downside is they don't know how long the pig valve will last and she's only 44 so she will likely need another one in 10-15 years. I'm hoping by then that they will be growing them from her own cells. There is a tremendous amount of ongoing research in heart disease, much more it seems than in lungs!

Lungs are larger than valves so I imagine a pig lung might be an even bigger deal to insert into a human than just a valve. That was more than enough excitement for me!

Joan

Joan....

Just wanted to say thanks for posting your reply. It was really educational to hear about your daughter's experiences and how well she is doing - and how positive that was!

Best,

Joni

amazing what they can do, huh? that is so good for things like the heart valve.

wonder what that swine flu shot could do to another pig part., like the lung....just thinking
margaret