Air conditioning out at Chicago's Weiss Memorial Hospital, patients sent elsewhere

Patients at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood had to be transported elsewhere with the air conditioning out on Tuesday afternoon.
CBS News Chicago spoke with one family who said the thermostat read 87 degrees in her mom's room at Weiss before the woman was transported.
The hospital said it may take several days before the system is back up and running.
Patient after patient was seen being transported out of the emergency doors of Weiss Memorial Hospital, at 4646 N. Marine Dr., on Tuesday evening.
Each one was loaded into ambulances due to what authorities called the "catastrophic loss" of the air conditioning system.
"That's why we've got everything — two fans in here. She got one USB," John Celestino, who came to visit his 92-year-old mom in the morning, said as he went through a bag of items he brought. "It's like, 'This is weird.' I start seeing AC units or portables in the hallway."
Half a dozen repair trucks were seen outside the back door of the hospital on Tuesday. Hospital management said the aging infrastructure has not been properly maintained by previous owners.
"Thanks to the city of Chicago inspector that I saw earlier, and I was like, 'OK, they're here for, you know, something serious now,'" said Celestino.
In the meantime, patients like Celestino's mom are being transported to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and other area hospitals.
"What we heard from the staff that the AC's been down for months," Celestino said.
While it was not known Tuesday night how long the system had been out, Celestino said they know the air conditioning has not been working in his mom's room since Saturday.
"For a hospital, you know, it's really, you know, totally unacceptable and sad," Celestino said.
The hospital said the outpatient and supporting areas were not impacted.
The emergency room is redirecting ambulances, but is open to walk-in patients. However, any patients who need to be admitted will be transported to another facility.
Weiss released the following statement:
"Weiss Memorial Hospital has experienced a catastrophic loss of its air conditioning system. A team of mechanics are working diligently to restore the systems which is estimated to take several days given that the aging infrastructure had not been properly maintained by its previous owners. Once the repairs are completed the hospital will need to be cooled to a comfortable temperature before being allowed to resume operations.
"In the interest of patient safety, we have transferred most of our valued patients to our sister hospital West Suburban Medical Center and have tapped other area hospitals to assist. The outpatient areas and its supporting areas will remain open as those areas are not impacted. Our Emergency Room is re-directing ambulances but remains open for walk-in patients. If any of these patients need admission, they will be stabilized and transferred to another facility.
"We are all working to resolve this matter. Inconvenience to everyone is deeply regretted."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

CNN

17 minutes ago

• CNN

I tossed my expensive makeup to get rid of my acne. Here are the noncomedogenic products I use now

Noncomedogenic makeup quick picks Skin tint: Make Beauty Diffusion Dew Radiant Skin Tint Highlighter: Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Bio-Radiant Gel-Powder Illuminating Highlighter Setting powder: RMS Beauty Un Powder Brow gel: Kimiko The Brow Sensei In my mid-twenties, I was hit with a wave of stubborn cystic acne that covered my face seemingly overnight. After trying countless products, the real shift came when I switched to Clearstem — a noncomedogenic (aka non-pore-clogging) skin care line designed to tackle breakouts and wrinkles. While my skin finally started to clear, I still couldn't shake some breakouts — until I realized my makeup products might be the culprit. It turns out even beauty products can clog pores! So, I did something dramatic and expensive: I cross-checked my makeup ingredients using Clearstem's Pore-Clogging Ingredients Checker, tossed everything I owned and started fresh. After lots of trial and error, I finally found the best noncomedogenic makeup, from Charlotte Tilbury to Rare Beauty and more. Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum There's a reason this serum has 'glow' in its name. Worn with makeup or by itself, it leaves my skin looking lit from within, thanks to ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. Make Beauty Diffusion Dew Radiant Skin Tint This lightweight foundation features skin-mimicking pigments that blur, smooth and brighten. It's sheer yet buildable, making it perfect for a second-skin or full-coverage glam look. Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Effortless Cream Bronzer Stick You may have seen this bronzing stick all over TikTok, and I can confirm it's worth the hype! It glides on effortlessly and melts into my skin for the most natural, sun-kissed glow. Huda Beauty Easy Blur Primer My colleague, associate testing writer Carolina Gazal, also has acne-prone skin and said she's "extremely careful when it comes to [her] makeup choices." She swears by this silicone-free, noncomedogenic primer. "I love this jelly-like, antioxidant-rich formula that blurs pores instantly," she said. "It's also made with glycerin to control oil, making foundation last longer without that dreaded T-zone shine." Haus Labs by Lady Gaga Bio-Radiant Gel-Powder Illuminating Highlighter Leave it to Lady Gaga to create the best highlighter on the market. This pressed-powder formula is packed with glow-boosting ingredients that make my cheekbones truly shine. Priia Lip Butter Balm Summer Fridays, who? This under-$10, buildable vegan lip butter balm is infused with acne-safe botanicals and leaves my lips looking and feeling hydrated and plump. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray Good news: Not all Charlotte Tilbury products include pore-clogging ingredients! That includes the brand's ultra-viral setting spray, which locks in makeup all day long. RMS Beauty Un Powder Formulated with silica, this nontoxic setting powder instantly absorbs oil and minimizes the appearance of pores. Best of all, it's never drying, so it's great for all skin types. Kimiko The Brow Sensei Not only does this clear gel style and keep my brows in place but it's made with growth- and hair-enhancing peptides. I swear, my brows have never looked fuller! Olio E Osso Tinted Balm Associate deals editor Elena Matarazzo said she stocks up on these sensitive skin-friendly multisticks for friends and family. They're made with natural oils and waxes but none that are flagged as pore cloggers. "The clear one is great for chapped hands, cheeks and other areas that need a bit of hydration, while the tinted version doubles as a lip balm and blush," she said. Know how pore cloggers work Your first step to putting your best face forward? Staying up to date on what might actually be clogging your pores in the first place. Danielle Gronich, co-founder and CEO of Clearstem, suggests 'thinking of pore cloggers as ingredients that create a sticky, occlusive film on your skin. This film traps dead skin cells, oil and bacteria inside your pores, leading to congestion, blackheads, whiteheads and, ultimately, pimples.' Look for the right products When sourcing the right noncomedogenic products for your skin, it helps to know which ingredients are worth prioritizing. 'We want ingredients that are both skin-loving and noncomedogenic,' Gronich said. 'Look for hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, zinc oxide, green tea extract and kaolin clay.' While sourcing the best noncomedogenic ingredients is a solid place to start, it's only part of the equation. Consider steering clear of what our experts deem pore-clogging ingredients as well. 'Some ingredients that may be considered pore clogging include cocoa butter, isopropyl myristate, coconut oil and ethylhexyl palmitate,' Dr. Marisa Garshick, a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology, said. Learn more about your own skin What works for one person's skin might yield a breakout in another, so it helps to track patterns in your own skin or book a consultation with a skin specialist or dermatologist to gain tangible insights into what might fare best for you. 'Just because ingredients may be pore clogging, it doesn't mean everyone who uses them will necessarily experience breakouts,' Garshick said. The following FAQs have been answered by Dr. Marisa Garshick and Clearstem co-founder and CEO Danielle Gronich. What is noncomedogenic makeup? What is noncomedogenic makeup? 'Noncomedogenic makeup is formulated without the heavy, occlusive ingredients that are known to clog pores,' Gronich said. 'It allows your skin to 'breathe' and function properly, helping minimize the risk of breakouts. It's designed to be gentler and more compatible with acne-prone skin.' However, Gronich also said that just because 'noncomedogenic' is on the label, that doesn't guarantee that a product is truly acne-safe. 'The term isn't tightly regulated, so some products may still contain ingredients that can clog pores — especially for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin,' she said. 'Always check the full ingredient list for pore cloggers. What works for one person may trigger breakouts in another, so being your own skin detective is key!' How do I check for pore-clogging ingredients in makeup? How do I check for pore-clogging ingredients in makeup? 'I always tell people to check the ingredient list,' Gronich said. 'We created an online resource, Clearstem's Pore-Clogging Ingredients Checker, where you can input your products and see if they have pore cloggers.' In addition to checking new products you want to try, Garshick said to check for pore-clogging ingredients every time you repurchase a product too. 'Brands can change their formulations for a variety of reasons at any time, so it's always best to double-check,' she said. Besides impacting acne-prone skin, how else do pore-clogging ingredients negatively affect skin? Besides impacting acne-prone skin, how else do pore-clogging ingredients negatively affect skin? 'In some cases, pore-clogging ingredients may lead to milia formation, even in those who are not acne-prone,' Garshick said. 'Some ingredients may also be irritating on the skin, which should be considered for those with sensitive skin.' The dermatologist also said that pore-clogging ingredients may even create a barrier on the skin, which can make other products less effective since they won't penetrate as well. For this article, we consulted the following experts to gain their professional insights. Dr. Marisa Garshick, board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York and New Jersey Danielle Gronich, co-founder and CEO of Clearstem Here at CNN Underscored, we make it our job to stay up to date on all the latest products, but we don't just find them; we also rigorously test products from hundreds of brands to make sure every product we recommend is worthy of your money. In addition to hands-on testing many of the products we feature, we also consult top experts to understand what qualities, benefits and possible downsides each item offers. We also seek out important considerations and advice from our experts to help give you the information you need to make smarter shopping decisions. For this article, our director of social, Stephanie Griffin, shared her favorite noncomedogenic makeup and tips for finding products that won't clog your pores.

Yahoo

25 minutes ago

• Yahoo

With 59% institutional ownership, eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) is a favorite amongst the big guns

Institutions' substantial holdings in eHealth implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price The top 17 shareholders own 51% of the company Insiders have been buying lately AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early. Every investor in eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 59% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future. In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of eHealth. Check out our latest analysis for eHealth Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. We can see that eHealth does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of eHealth, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. It looks like hedge funds own 14% of eHealth shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Our data shows that 8 Knots Management, LLC is the largest shareholder with 8.1% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.4% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Francis Soistman, the CEO has 2.3% of the shares allocated to their name. After doing some more digging, we found that the top 17 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company. Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. We can report that insiders do own shares in eHealth, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$7.4m worth of the US$123m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying. With a 21% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over eHealth. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand eHealth better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - eHealth has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

CNN

26 minutes ago

• CNN

The Organ Transplant Revolution Starts Here - Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta - Podcast on CNN Audio

Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:00:03 What you're about to hear is a story of history in the making. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:00:20 A medical first, a story of survival, bravery, and heroism. I'm not a hero. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:00:29 To try and solve a crisis. Taking the clamp off the artery. Nice and pink, yeah. You see, at any given moment, more than 100,000 people are waiting. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:00:56 And every day 17 people sadly will die. Speaker 2 00:01:00 For any organ that you name. Only 10% make it on the list. There's just not enough of. There's not enough. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:01:06 Now, the potential answer to this problem might sound crazy to many. Speaker 7 00:01:10 I have received a major, major, groundbreaking organ transplant. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:01:19 Controversial to some Speaker 7 00:01:21 for that animal. This is a life of deprivation. It's an early death. It is much suffering. I don't think that's ever okay. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:01:28 Even blasphemous to others. Speaker 5 00:01:30 Contacted the bishop and then the Vatican sent me a paper Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:01:34 But now, more than ever, it's also incredibly promising. Could animals be the answer? Is it right? Is it wrong? Can it even work? Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:01:49 That is an ultrasound with a pig kidney inside Tim, something that very few Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:01:54 people ever get to see. For the last two years, we've been searching for answers. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:02:01 It's powerful just to be here with these pigs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:02:05 I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and here is part one of Animal Farm. In the remote mountains of Patagonia, about as far from civilization as you can get, Robert Montgomery almost died. Robert Montgomery 00:02:22 I had a cardiac arrest and my son was doing CPR on me and they put me in the back of a truck and drove me to a hospital and they looked at me and said we can't take care of this. They brought an ambulance up and continued resuscitation and drove five hours to the closest hospital. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:02:47 I've heard a lot of extraordinary stories throughout my career, but just the idea, the cardiac arrest, and then your son doing chest compressions on you. Robert Montgomery 00:02:54 Yeah, he saved my life. When I woke up I couldn't do anything, I couldn't walk or talk. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:03:09 That he even survived. It really is just so extraordinary. But still, the underlying problem, something known as dilated cardiomyopathy, where the heart is just too weak to adequately pump blood, that was still with him, lurking, constantly threatening his life. Robert Montgomery 00:03:28 Father died at 52 from cardiomyopathy, the same disease that I had. Brother dropped dead at 35. Another brother got a heart transplant at 39. And then me. I basically accepted that I might not live a normal lifespan. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:03:51 Almost every single man in his family, sick or dying of this heart disease. Was it your father's doctor who said that transplantation really wasn't going to be a solution? Robert Montgomery 00:04:04 My mother was really begging him to come up with something, and he said, you know, he's too old and... Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:04:12 52 Robert Montgomery 00:04:13 52 and it doesn't work anyway, so you wouldn't want that. That was 1976 Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:04:20 Even though the first successful heart transplant was back in 1967 in South Africa, it would take decades for it to become widely available. Not in time for Dr. Montgomery's dad. And so Robert Montgomery was given a mission, become a transplant surgeon, and hopefully one day save people just like his dad. Robert Montgomery 00:04:43 Alright, how does that look with the camera? Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:04:45 'It wasn't easy. By age 56, he had had three near-catastrophic cardiac arrests himself. The only cure, he was told, was a heart transplant. Robert Montgomery 00:04:56 For any organ that you name, only 10% make it on the list. I wasn't sick enough to get on the lists. You have to get so sick before you would even qualify to be in the running to receive an organ. And it's just unacceptable. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:05:12 And that's all because we have to ration organs. There's just not enough of them. Robert Montgomery 00:05:17 There's just not enough. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:05:18 But then it was the summer of 2018 when Robert Montgomery suddenly became sick enough. Once again, he was overseas. This time it was Italy, with his wife Denise. Denise Montgomery 00:05:30 Have four heart attacks that Robert Montgomery 00:05:32 I just had one cardiac arrest after another. They gave me last rights. Denise Montgomery 00:05:39 They revived him. He said I will die if I don't get out of here. Robert Montgomery 00:05:43 They left my IVs underneath my shirt and they gave my friend a bundle of preloaded resuscitation drugs and syringes and flew back because I knew that was my ticket. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:05:58 The odds of survival were still not in his favor. Robert Montgomery 00:06:02 Hi sweetheart Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:06:03 'You see, even after making it on the list, 17 people die every day while waiting. Remarkably, just three weeks later, a heart became available. But it came with a catch. His donor had died of a heroin overdose, and the heart was infected with hepatitis C. In the transplant world, that is typically a no-go. In fact, thousands of hep C-infected organs are discarded every year. But Dr. Montgomery insisted that his doctors still give it to him. Robert Montgomery 00:06:35 We had just done a study showing that you could take a hepatitis C positive organ and put it into a hepatitis C negative recipient and treat them with these new antivirals. You could successfully treat the virus. Denise Montgomery 00:06:47 Robert wasn't worried, and so I was. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:06:52 It was a risk, transplanting an infected organ into someone who had his immune system suppressed. But you're probably starting to see a pattern here. Montgomery was once again willing to take the chance and prove that these infected hearts could be used safely. Robert Montgomery 00:07:09 Hello to all my friends. And it worked. Thank you for your kind thoughts and your prayers, and I'm making a very nice recovery. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:07:18 Within weeks, he was able to walk out of the hospital. Today, he wants to show me the place he comes to treat patients, just like him. Robert Montgomery 00:07:27 I was in this room right around the corner, so I have good feelings about this place actually. It's like hope. Yeah, it's hope. It represents hope. Behind that door, yeah. Denise Montgomery 00:07:37 He is a man on a mission. He wants to see this eradicated. Robert Montgomery 00:07:43 If this were like a cancer drug, we wouldn't allow something to be rationed like this, right? We just don't have any choice right now. So we need another choice. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:07:52 Another choice which Montgomery is now racing to find. Tim Andrews 00:07:57 I'll help you down. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:07:58 Another choice, hopefully, for this man. Tim Andrews has been living with diabetes since the 1990s, successfully managing it with insulin. Retired and happily married to his second wife, Karen, these empty nesters had big plans for their new life together, traveling the world, until one day in 2022. Tim Andrews 00:08:19 I got tired, I was like, oh my god, I'm gonna fall asleep or something. So I was checked and they said, oh yeah, stage three, kidney failure. Oh, okay. And a month later they're telling me, I am at end stage. Wow, just one month. Just one month, just quit on it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:08:38 And what were you feeling like at that point? Tim Andrews 00:08:40 I mean, I was told, literally told, you have dialysis or you pick a box. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:08:50 It was a false choice, certain death or dialysis, meaning being dependent on a machine for the rest of his life. Tim Andrews 00:08:59 The first couple of months was like, hey, this is not gonna be so bad. As time went on, like six months in, I had a heart attack. It takes a toll on you emotionally and physically. Tim Andrews 00:09:29 This is where I get to sit. Without it, six weeks, eight weeks later, I'd be dead. It's a necessary evil. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:09:37 Necessary at least until he could get a kidney transplant. But again, just as with Montgomery, he knew that could take a while, might never happen, and the clock was ticking. I was ready to die in this chair. And that is when he learned about another option, brand new, still relatively untested. Speaker 11 00:09:58 Some people said, there's not enough information. Don't do this yet. Don't this yet." Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:10:09 You can't really tell by looking at them, but these tiny piglets have been genetically engineered to make their organs more acceptable for transplantation into humans. It's something known as xenotransplantation. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:10:22 So Mike, how unusual is it for us to even be here? Mike Curtis 00:10:25 This is very unusual. We usually try to limit this to only the staff that takes care of the animals. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:10:31 Mike Curtis is the CEO of biotech company eGenesis. Never before has he let cameras onto this very special pig farm. Mike Curtis 00:10:40 Everything's controlled, like all of the feed is clean, water's clean, the staff is clean. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:10:45 And I should just point out that I walked into a room, turned on a filter, essentially cleaned the air for five minutes before I could then go shower. That's why my hair is wet. I put on everything new here, including underwear, socks, shoes. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:10:59 The goal is to protect the pigs from us. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:11:14 You know, I got to tell you, I did not know what to expect, but it's powerful just to be here with these pigs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:11:23 After all, these pigs are among the most genetically modified mammals on the planet. Mike Curtis 00:11:29 These piglets carry a total of 69 edits to the genome. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:11:34 Alterations to their DNA. Mike Curtis 00:11:37 We're trying to reduce the risk of disease transmission from the porcine donor to human, we're editing in a way that reduces or eliminates hypercute rejection, and then we add human regulatory trans genes to control rejection. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:11:50 'To do that, scientists take the unedited pig cells and use a gene editing tool called CRISPR. They add special CRISPR fluids to the cells, which splices out certain genes and adds other genes. You can't really see anything with the naked eye and it takes only seconds, but what is happening in this vial is truly remarkable. Let me take a second and explain. First of all, remember that all DNA is made up of four chemical bases, A, C, G and T. Think of that as your genetic blueprint. Now, a pig's DNA and a human's DNA, they actually look pretty similar, but there are some important differences. For example, the GGTA1 gene that is responsible for a carbohydrate that forms around a pig cell known as alpha-gal. Now if you put that into a human, it would cause almost instantaneous rejection. But by knocking out that specific sequence and then adding in others. Scientists can make the pig's organs much more compatible for humans. Mike Curtis 00:12:55 So in the freezer are all these cells that we've edited. We thaw that vial, we grow those cells, and then we take the nucleus from that edited cell and we transfer it. It's akin to what was done with Dolly back in the 90s, cloning. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:13:09 'And that is the process by which they have created a modern-day assembly line of genetically modified pigs. Mike Curtis 00:13:17 We've selected the Yucatan Mini Pig because fully grown, they're about 70 kilos, 150 pounds. Right, so the organs are correctly sized for a human recipient. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:13:27 Ultimately, you've got to get the size right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:13:31 Now, if the idea of using animals for human transplants sounds familiar to you, it's because the concept has been around for a long time. There have been at least 48 cases reported in the medical literature since the 1900s. You may remember one of the most famous. Robert Montgomery 00:13:46 This is Baby Faye. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:13:47 Little baby Faye in 1984. She had a baboon heart that kept her alive for 20 days. But there was always the stubborn issue of rejection. And so for a long time, xenotransplants faded into the background. Robert Montgomery 00:14:01 I think we've turned up the throttle significantly. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:14:05 What's led to that? Robert Montgomery 00:14:06 What we did is transplanted one of these organs into someone who had wanted to donate their organs was brain dead. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:14:14 'You heard that right. The first human patients to receive the gene-edited pig kidneys were brain dead. Why? In order to move the field forward without moving too fast. First, the scientists just wanted to prove that pig organs could survive in a human body. Dr. Robert Montgomery performed that operation on Maurice Miller, who was brain dead Robert Montgomery 00:14:39 We took the clamps off to let the blood go into the organ and it turned this beautiful pink color and started to make urine immediately. Robert Montgomery 00:14:48 Pretty looking kidney. Robert Montgomery 00:14:49 'That was mind-blowing. So it looks a lot like a human kidney. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:14:54 In fact, when I first met Dr. Montgomery a few years ago, he was reviewing Maurice Miller's kidney biopsy. Here's what they learned. About a month into the transplant, the pig kidney did begin to show signs of rejection. Robert Montgomery 00:15:08 See that red? Yes. That's hemorrhage. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:15:11 'But importantly, standard anti-rejection drugs did work. And the kidney function is okay? Robert Montgomery 00:15:18 It's back to normal. Robert Montgomery 00:15:20 It gave, I think, the FDA some confidence that this was going to work in humans. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:15:27 'With all that research in the background, in 2022, the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced the first xenotransplant into a living recipient, someone who is not brain dead. It would be a pig heart into 57-year-old David Bennett. Give me a high five, buddy. That was awesome. David Ayers 00:15:46 We saw two months survival of that patient and now incrementally seeing longer and longer survival in these compassionate use patients. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:15:55 David Ayers is a giant of a man. Seeing him on this farm in Blacksburg, Virginia, you may not know that he is also considered one of the most widely regarded geneticists in the world. David Ayers 00:16:06 We have about 300 research animals here. We grow the designated pathogen free pigs that were ultimately used for the decedent studies, as well as the patients that have received our organs for transplant, both hearts and kidneys. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:16:23 He's taking me to meet some of the farm's newest arrivals. David Ayers 00:16:28 Watch your head, maybe that's just me. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:16:34 There's a lot of piglets David Ayers 00:16:37 Do you want to hold one? Yeah, sure. So these are ten gene Clone Piglets. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:16:44 Here at United Therapeutics, they perform 10 gene edits on their pigs. Now remember, eGenesis in Wisconsin perform more than 60. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:16:57 If you're doing 6 times as many edits does that make it much better? David Ayers 00:16:58 I don't think more edits is necessarily better or worse. The additional 50 edits that eGenesis has done are to inactivate an endogenous pig virus. We've actually addressed that by breeding. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:17:12 In 2024, the first pig kidney transplant was announced. Speaker 14 00:17:16 My name is Dr. Leo Riella. I'm medical director of the kidney transplant program Mass General. Today, we announce the successful gene added to pay kidney transplant into a living human. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:17:28 Tim Andrews, still on dialysis, was watching all of this unfold. Tim Andrews 00:17:34 I'm like, oh, they're doing it at Mass General. And I was like, I have to be part of this. I'm not gonna make it, but I'll make it to this. And I'll tell you right up front, if it's one day and you learn something, thank God. Dr. Riella 00:17:50 His eyes really sparked up and he said, tell me what I need to do. Speaker 11 00:17:56 And they said, prepare your body for battle, because it's gonna be a battle. He had to do dental work, he had to go to physical therapy. We signed up for the gym. When he came back to see Dr. Riella, he had lost 22 pounds. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:18:13 Did you have any doubts along the way? Tim Andrews 00:18:16 You know, there's always doubt with it, but I'm like, this is my chance to do something. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:18:23 You're going to be in medical history books forever. Tim Andrews 00:18:27 Kids are going to be taught how to do it, watching me have one put in me. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:18:33 They'll know your name. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:18:38 It's a crisp January morning back at the Egenesis Pig Farm in Wisconsin. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:18:44 It's been more than a year since our first visit. Speaker 3 00:18:47 This is many years in the making. So Raphael, she'll be able to donate one of her kidneys to a man who's in dire need. And essentially, she's saving his life. Speaker 15 00:18:59 Go, Raphael! It's a really big moment. There's a lot of emotions. We love our piglets like our own. Thinking about the purpose that Raphael is serving, like getting to go and give someone a new lease on life is just such a gift. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:19:18 That someone is Tim Andrews. Raphael will be his donor. Tim Andrews 00:19:25 What a gift. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:19:30 'As Rafael departs for the 17-hour trip to Boston, Tim settles in at Mass General. Tim Andrews 00:19:37 I knew I was in great hands, these guys are just so good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:19:42 Were you nervous the morning of? Dr. Riella 00:19:45 And we'll see you on the other side, getting ready. As a new man. We're all anxious and nervous about going through a procedure that has not been done before. And having that reassurance from him also brings a lot of positivity to the entire team. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:20:02 It's early morning, January 25th, when Dr. Riella and the surgical team travel about 50 miles outside of Boston to meet Rafael. Dr. Riella 00:20:11 It was an OR, very similar to what we see in the hospital, and the surgery to retrieve the organs occur there. They look very similar to how we do procurements. I think uniqueness is really that, who was a donor, who was coming, yeah, it was a pig. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:20:29 It's go time! Speaker 11 00:20:30 It's a dance to get the pig kidney there and get him in the operating room. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:20:37 They gotta coordinate it. Speaker 11 00:20:37 So a nurse came and said, okay, good to go. I'm like, wait, wait. We haven't said goodbye. You can't say goodbye. Oh, yes, I can. So, I actually made them wait and they said, we've got to go, I'm saying goodbye to my husband before he leaves for surgery and he may not come back. Speaker 17 00:21:00 It's a little chilly in here, okay, Tim? Tim Andrews 00:21:01 I like cold. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:21:02 The operation lasts a little over two hours, around the same as a traditional transplant, and the big kidney. It looks, feels, and functions very much like a human kidney. And here is when surgeons connect the pig kidney to Tim's artery and vein. After that, the moment of truth. Surgeons release the clamp so blood can flow into the kidneys and the organ turns pink. And now this, urine, successfully flowing through the kidneys. Dr. Riella 00:21:36 Wow, look at that. We were very surprised. We were hoping that we would start making urine within a day or two, but seeing the urine being produced right away was not what at least I expected to be happening that close. Everything went well. Speaker 11 00:21:53 They said, they put the kidney on the table and started connecting him to the kidney and he actually peed across the room. So they were very, very excited. Of course, I started bawling like a baby. We were all crying. I mean, we were all. oh my goodness, I mean, this is not the end, but we're getting there, we're getting there. Tim Andrews 00:22:19 'I felt great and all of a sudden I had energy and I was like, this is beyond what I thought I was going to get. So right away you felt that coming? Right away I felt that. I was, like, look at me, I'm a new man, it was like a new birth, I said, I have a new birthday, 125-25 is my new birthday. Because I was alive and I hadn't been for a long time and I'm like, this is amazing. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:22:57 But there was still a long way to go. This is still so experimental after all. And Tim and Karen knew how quickly things could change. It was just a year earlier that Lisa Passano also needed a kidney. Her daughter, Brittany Rydell, remembers just how sick her mother was. Brittany Rydell 00:23:17 It means no more dialysis, hopefully. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:23:20 'Like Tim, she was an end-stage kidney disease, but Lisa's heart was also failing. And that is why a traditional kidney transplant was not an option for her. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:23:30 She was too sick. Brittany Rydell 00:23:32 Yeah, absolutely. Robert Montgomery 00:23:34 Lisa Passano was on death's door. I mean, she was not gonna live. You know, days to weeks from dying. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:23:44 So Dr. Montgomery, who was her surgeon, suggested a pig kidney. Robert Montgomery 00:23:48 But there are some people who are willing to take that chance, and she was one of them. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:23:54 'In the spring of 2024, Lisa Pisano became one of the first two patients in the world to receive a gene-edited pig kidney transplant. Brittany Rydell 00:24:02 I got more energy. I feel energized. After her kidney transplant, I have to say she looked the best that she looked in so I've seen her so happy. It was definitely the healthiest I had seen her in a while. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:24:15 She was doing well at that point. Brittany Rydell 00:24:17 Yeah, we were so hopeful, because I had seen her so much better, and I figured if anything was going to go wrong, it would have went wrong at that moment, and not months later. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:24:28 Pesano developed several infections and never recovered enough to leave the hospital. Brittany Rydell 00:24:33 I don't have regrets about the surgery, I just wish that she could have had the opportunity to really enjoy it more. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:24:40 I know it's probably hard to sort of think of it this way, but she was a real pioneer. Brittany Rydell 00:24:45 One of the first things she said to me was even if this doesn't work for me, it can work for someone else. And I think about that a lot. Robert Montgomery 00:24:52 The first patient that we did was in this bed, in the bed that I was in, Lisa Passano. You know, taking care of that one life. And if they were just that, that would be great, but then you have this opportunity to really impact maybe thousands, maybe millions of lives. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:25:11 Now Tim knew Lisa's story. He knew that there was a tremendous amount of uncertainty. Tim Andrews 00:25:17 Stepping forward, you're gonna do something for humanity. This is a way that we can bring this forward. And this is the hope for all these people that it's gonna be okay. We're gonna find a way, which is amazing to me. It was just, I have to be part of this. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:25:40 So would this be a success for Tim, and what does it all mean for the 100,000 people currently waiting? Tim Andrews 00:25:47 There's bumps in the road. Dr. Sanjay Gupta 00:25:48 We'll dive into that when we come back next week with part two of Animal Farm. Thanks for listening.