After Putin and Xi Jinping spoke about the expansion of life at 150, journalists asked experts how realistic this scenario is.
Putin and XI talked about immortality during the Beijing Foto X meeting
A translator, who spoke in mandarin in the name of Putin, told XI that human organs can be continuously changed “So that someone becomes younger.” Despite age and that old age might even be postponed “Endless”.
“It is expected that in this century it could become possible to live up to 150 years”he added.
Organ transplants really save lives, notes journalists from the BBC. The life of an organ depends on how healthy the donor and the recipient are – and how well the patient takes care of him.
Transplants and longevity limit
Putin and XI could talk about multiple organ transplants and maybe even repeated.
However, surgery is a major operation, with significant risks. Currently, people who receive a new organ should take strong drugs for rejection all their lives, called immunosuppressants. These can have side effects, such as high blood pressure, and increase the risk of infections.
Scientists are working on creating organs that are not rejected, using genetically modified pigs as donors. They use a genetic editing tool, known as CRISPR, to eliminate some swine genes and add certain human genes that make the organ more compatible.
The special pig farm for this purpose is ideal, experts say, because their organs have dimensions close to the human ones. But science is still extremely experimental, but a heart and kidney operation have already taken place.
The two men who accepted these procedures were pioneers of this new field of transplant medicine. They both died in the meantime, but have contributed to the progress of xenotransplant – transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.
Organs to order
Another research direction is the growth of completely new organs, using our own human cells. Stem cells have the ability to turn into any type of cell or tissue in the body.
No research has so far managed to create fully functional human organs, ready for transplantation, but scientists are approaching this goal.
In December 2020, British researchers from UCL and Francis Crick Institute rebuilt a human thymus – an essential organ of the immune system – using human stem cells and a bioinginere support. When it was transplanted to mice, as a test, it seemed to work.
Also, scientists at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London say they have grown human intestinal grafts using stem cells in patients’ tissue, which could, one day, lead to personalized transplants for children with intestinal failure.
But these progress are intended to treat serious diseases, not to keep people alive for up to 150 years.
The entrepreneur trying to rejuvenate
Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, meanwhile, spends millions of dollars a year to reduce his biological age. He has not yet tried organ transplants, but infused his 17-year-old plasma.
He subsequently gave up, after not observing benefits and undergoing increased medical monitoring by organizations such as Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Julian Mutz, from King’s College London, said that, beyond organ transplantation, methods such as plasma replacement are explored, but they remain experimental.
“It remains uncertain if such strategies will have a significant impact on the lifespan, especially on the maximum limit of human life, although it is an area of considerable scientific interest.”
What the experts say
Professor Neil Mabbott, an immunopathology expert at the Roslin Institute, the University of Edinburgh, speculates that 125 years could be the upper limit of life.
“The oldest person in the world officially verified was the French Jeanne Calment, who lived 122 years, between 1875 and 1997”he told BBC News.
And, although the damaged and sick organs can be replaced by transplants, as we get older, our bodies become much less resilient and more unable to cope with physical stress factors.
“We begin to respond weaker to infections, and our bodies become more fragile, prone to wounds and less capable of recovering and healing. Stress, trauma and impact of a transplant operation, along with the continuous use of immunosuppressive drugs necessary to prevent transplanted organs, would be too severe.”
He says that, instead of focusing on extending the duration of life, we should rather increase the number of years you live healthy.
Professor Mabbott concluded: “Living much longer, but suffering from multiple diseases associated with aging and entering and leaving the hospital for another tissue transplant, it does not seem an attractive way to spend my pension!”
