Can organ transplants make us immortal?
Recently, President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin had a conversation about the possibilities of achieving immortality through multiple organ transplants over our lifespan, along with continued advancements in medicine and technology.
This article suggests that while transplants are able to save and potentially extend lives, it is unable to make us younger in age or immortal. This limitation is due to the finite lifespan of transplanted organs as well as the negative side-effects of taking immunosuppressant drugs after undertaking each surgery.
To address this, scientists are exploring:
- Xenotransplantation which involves the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. For instance, transplanting organs from genetically-modified pigs.
- Growth of new organs using one’s stem cells. This is because stem cells have the ability to grow into any type of cell or tissue found in the body.
However, these developments are aimed to overcome health issues rather than enabling humans to live to 150 years old.
Therefore, experts believe that 125 years old might be the limit of human lifespan and it is smarter to strive for healthy ageing instead of focusing on immortality.
Read more on: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly1w9z72r6o