Catherine Remy. “Transplanters are betting that if we can do xenografts under good conditions, it will save thousands of lives.”

1920, Paris. transplanting great ape testicles onto humans in the stated hope of “reviving” them. 1963, Louisiana. transplantation of a chimpanzee kidney into an African American patient. 1984, California. baboon heart transplantation in a ten-day-old infant. Three xenograft attempts, three failures. The idea of ​​animal-to-human organ transplantation has a long, fascinating history, deciphered by sociologist Catherine Remy*, whose book “Hybrids» has just been published by Éditions du CNRS. Is it about healing or transforming the human species?

Madame Figaro. – Where did your interest in grafting different species come from?
Catherine Remy: I have been working on human-animal relations for a long time. I did a thesis on killing animals, doing research in slaughterhouses and experimental laboratories. Scientists had talked to me about xenotransplantation, that is, transplanting organs between different species, especially animals and humans. I found it pretty crazy and destabilizing. And there have been very few studies on the topic.

As early as 1667 in France, blood transfusions between animals and humans were experimented with…
This was the first attempt to use the resources of the animal body to treat the human body. However, the idea of ​​organ transplantation appeared only at the end of the 19th century.^e century and early 20th century^e century. With the idea that animal bodies are as readily available as human car parts stores. Meanwhile, human organs are intact. at that time it was impossible to remove organs from them, it was taboo.

In the 1920s in France, there were dozens of attempts to transplant great ape testicles into old men.
It was the Roaring 20’s, we tried a lot of things. Doctor Serzh Voronov of Russian origin was interested in hormone therapy and opotherapy (treating diseases using animal-derived cells, Editor’s Note), then in fashion. animal substances were taken to invigorate the human organism. He also showed that great apes have almost the same blood types as humans, indicating affinity and compatibility. So he imagined taking their testicles and attaching them to human testicles. The addition of this animal gland will restore the hormonal system, leading to personal rejuvenation. With the idea that if we could get primates on a large scale, we could revitalize society as a whole. Even, as Voronoff’s colleague said, implementing a eugenics project. the primate body, considered wild, powerful, incorruptible, would make it possible to create a “new humanity”. This caused controversy, and Voronoff was eventually discredited. Moreover, his vaccinations were not really vaccinations because they were not vascular.

When were the first “real” xenografts dated?
From the 1960s after World War II, attempts at human transplants, particularly kidney transplants, failed. Hence, the xenograft idea resurfaced. In 1963, chimpanzee kidneys were transplanted into African-American patients in Louisiana (USA). The young teacher survives for eight months, which is then considered a success. In 1964, a chimpanzee heart xenotransplantation in Mississippi caused a stir because a deaf-mute man living in a trailer died instantly.

The body of primates, which is considered wild, powerful, incorruptible, will make it possible to create a “new humanity”.

Catherine Remy

In 1984, in California, a baboon heart transplant to an infant suffering from a congenital anomaly also failed…Yep, another failure and a big, highly publicized controversy. The controversy concerns the fact that this is again a very vulnerable patient, but also that the bodies of healthy animals, particularly primates, cannot serve as reservoirs for humans. Animalist criticism is gaining momentum and winning public debate. This is a turning point. xenomoratorium was set in xenomoratorium. Especially since, by then, modern resuscitation techniques have led to a new definition of death, brain death, which can occur while the heart is still beating, thus paving the way for removing the moral reluctance to harvest viable organs from humans.

Where are we today?
Doctors usually use pig tissue, heart valves, or skin. But whole-organ xenotransplantation is not yet a therapeutic reality because of the massive and rapid rejection of organs from animals. Researchers have been trying to overcome this for nearly 30 years. Primate transplant trials of pig organs show promise, so surgeons are returning to human clinical trials. In 2022, a genetically modified pig heart was transplanted into a patient in the United States. Since then, several other trials have taken place, with survival of several weeks. Transplanters believe it, and it can work very soon. The key is to be aware of the controversy this will cause, as it inevitably will for some.

What could they be about?
The animal criticism that applied to monkeys can also apply to pigs. Especially since they have been “humanized” with human genes inserted to make them more compatible and avoid rejection. Transplanters are betting that if we can do xenografts under good conditions, it will solve the organ shortage and save thousands of lives. But this will cause controversy.

What does it mean to live on a pig’s kidney or heart for twenty years? This is the same as having an artificial heart.

Catherine Remy

There is also concern about possible “conversions” of transplant recipients. Do these practices compromise the boundaries between species?
Whether fantasy is made or not, this question has always been asked. He will relax. What does it mean to live on a pig’s kidney or heart for twenty years? This is the same as having an artificial heart. Transplanting organs between people already raises questions among transplant recipients, with the idea that “the dead lives in me.” This disturbance can be multiplied tenfold by the fact that it is a non-human who is “in me”. Symbolically, it is nothing.

You’re immersed in a lab of xenografts from pigs to primates. Why was it difficult?
The researchers were too afraid to open their doors to a non-transplant, even though I assured them of strict anonymity. They had reason because scientists were threatened in the 1990s in the United Kingdom. But they eventually let me into the lab, where I understood the full complexity of xenografts, moral and technical. This therapy is supported by scientists, surgeons and patient associations who are convinced of the benefits it can bring to humanity. But the public opinion is less and less ready to accept it, because the question of respect for animal life is more and more manifested. It will take a real social debate to decide.

 Catherine Remy is a researcher at CNRS and EHESS. Just published, Hybrids. Transplantation of organs from animals to humans”, CNRS Éditions, 296 p., €25.