SPARE PARTS FOR THE HUMAN BODY

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 1971

A dacron aorta, a mechanical kidney, a ""borrowed"" baboon liver -- these are some of the spare parts Dr. Nolan describes in dramatic case histories, many of them involving his own patients. In an optimistic projection he foresees that battery-powered hearts will replace the chancier Barnard-style transplants, that doctors will soon learn how to prevent or control rejection, and that an International Tissue Registry will greatly expedite transplant logistics. Admittedly more speculative is the notion of raising baboons as spare part sources, injecting each from birth with tissue from his prospective human beneficiary to prevent rejection should transplant be indicated. Nolen is perhaps unduly upbeat in his emphasis on the beckoning ""new frontier"" in spare part surgery, but the medical details have a sure fascination, the workings of the pertinent organs and the mechanics of defense and rejection are neatly explained along the way, and the acknowledgement of complex and touchy ethical questions (defining death, choosing among would-be recipients, allocating money) will give the most wide-eyed enthusiasts something to think about.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION