Chapter 216: Artificial Organs (5) |
“Before I hear the treatment and the condition,” Chen Shui said. “From what you’re saying, Doctor Ryu, I’m going to be in danger because my transplanted heart won’t be able to function. Then, what if I use the treatment and get another heart in three months? I think that will work,” Chen Shui said.
Young-Joon was a little disgusted by his sordid way of thinking.
‘It’s not like switching the parts of a car…’
Normally, when someone received an organ transplant from another person, the immune system recognized it as a foreign pathogenic substance and destroyed it: this was called a rejection. To solve this problem, modern medicine used three strategies: the first was to ensure a complete histocompatibility antigen match between the donor and recipient, the second was to use non-specific immunosuppressive drugs, and the last was to induce immune tolerance.
For the first strategy, doctors tested the blood type and antigens on the donor and recipient’s white blood cells, called human leukocyte antigen testing (HLA testing), to determine compatibility. It was very rare for the recipient and donor to have a perfect match, so they usually compromised with somewhat of a match. The reason for this, of course, was because there were only a few people who were willing to donate.
When a critically ill patient who had agreed to a transplant died, there was a very low chance that their histocompatibility antigens matched the donor’s on a tolerable level. Therefore, if the survival rate was acceptable, the transplant was simply performed, followed by a post-treatment of immunosuppressants and immune tolerance induction.
Plus, there was no way the human immune system would recognize the Chinese president; the chances of a heart from a critically ill patient who would die within three months being compatible with Chen Shui’s body would be as low as any other patient.
Still, it was a bit concerning that Chen Shui was so confident that they could just transplant another heart. It almost sounded like they would even take a heart from a living person with good histocompatibility.
However, this wasn’t possible.
“...”
“You’re saying that it won’t work unless we find a heart with a one hundred percent histocompatibility match,” Fen Mao said.
“That’s right.”
It was no different than saying that Chen Shui was incurable.
Concern dawned on the medical team’s faces.
“Then what’s your solution, Doctor Ryu?” Chen Shui asked.
“Make an artificial organ and transplant it,” Young-Joon said.
“An artificial organ?”
The medical team frowned.
“A-GenBio has been working on organoids and artificial organs for a long time. We’ve already perfected the development of a few organs, including the small intestine, but we’ve never transplanted them into humans.”
“Are you saying that you’re going to test that completely unproven nonsense on the President?” Peng Kui asked in disbelief.
“That’s the only way, and I am confident.”
“...”
“Take the treatment and wait. I will bring you an artificial heart made from your own cells. Since it will be your own cells, it will be one hundred percent histocompatible,” Young-Joon said.
“...”
Chen Shui thought for a moment, then sighed.
“That seems like the only way,” he said. “I will do that, Doctor Ryu. And I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“How many of this cure and artificial organs can you make?”
“... There are other patients besides you. How many are there?”
“Our health authorities can’t track that number. We’ll have to go to Xinjiang Uygur and get the number from the hospital staff there, but what I do know is that there are quite a few bedridden people in Zhongnanhai right now, like me. They are all leading the country, and if even one of them is vacant, it could shake the country.”
“... I can provide as many treatments as you need, but artificial organs are a different story. There aren’t many scientists at A-GenBio who can produce them, maybe twenty at most, and that will also depend on the type of organ.”
“... I see. Most of them will die. I will make a list of the people who must be saved.”
“Speaking of lists, I have another favor to ask,” Young-Joon added.
“Is it the condition you were talking about earlier? What is it?”
“Let me visit the camps in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.”
“That’s not possible.”
Chen Shui shut him down in distaste. However, Young-Joon didn’t back down.
“I need to see how far the virus has spread there, and I need to know how many other patients there are besides you.”
“...That area is even harder to get into than the Hall of Diligence, Doctor Ryu,” Peng Kui intervened.
“Isn’t that why I’m asking the President?” Young-Joon replied.
“...”
Peng Kui sighed like they were in a bind. Chen Shui thought for a moment.
“Alright. But whatever you see and hear there, you must not talk about it outside.”
“Maybe. I’ll think about it,” Young-Joon said.
“Look… Doctor Ryu,” Peng Kui said. “Uygur is an internationally sensitive conflict area. If a speaker with your influence says the wrong thing, it will be…”
“I’m not interested in politics, and it’s not like I know much about the independence of the Uygur people. But as long as a deadly virus has entered the region, there may be information that needs to be shared with the public for the sake of public health.”
“Why are you so interested in the internal affairs of another country?” Peng Kui asked, a little offended.
“I don’t care about internal affairs. But a virus that can cause subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy and organ transplants is a problem in the medical community. We have to stop further damage, don't we?” Young-Joon said. “You said the prisoners gave their consent, and it was done legally. Various media outlets, led by Nature, will be asking questions soon enough, and I’m just saying that we should answer truthfully, both you and me.”
“...”
Chen Shui glared at Young-Joon.
“Are you not going to do the artificial organ transplant if I don’t do that? Even though you have always been dedicated to science and humanity?”
“...”
The bodyguards in the room glanced at Young-Joon. Peng Kui waited for his response nervously. The atmosphere was tense, and the heavy silence weighed down on Young-Joon.
But he answered firmly.
“No, then I won’t do it.”
Peng Kui coughed and the bodyguards glared, but no one could move easily.
Young-Joon said, “If it is true that you executed prisoners of conscience and harvested their organs without consent, Nature will not only reject the paper that they are editing now, but they are also thinking of retracting the existing papers as well.”
He looked straight at Chen Shui.
“I think that is right. Data produced by lies or in unethical ways is not what I think science should look like because it will only lead to bigger problems in the end. I don’t want to get involved in any of that. If you want my help, you’ll have to be transparent about all the medical practices that occurred in Xinjiang Uygur first.”
* * *
In the hallway of an old apartment on the outskirts of San Diego, stood a middle-aged man and woman in front of the door to unit 1208, reuniting after about twenty-five years. To be exact, only Elsie happily greeted him; Cheon Ji-Myung was in a state of shock, unable to speak.
Elsie had changed dramatically. She had lost everything—her luscious hair, bright eyes, and her beautiful smile. She opened the door while smoking a weed cigarette and a bottle of vodka in her hand. Sbe has gained about fifty kilograms and aged significantly. Even considering that a long time had passed, she had changed too much.
“What happened…”
In Cheon Ji-Myung’s memories, Elsie was someone who spent every night with papers and experiments, saying that she was going to biosynthesize a living cell from organic material. She was a cute, lively person who planned unbelievable experiments and pitched two new project ideas every day.
“Come in,” Elsie said as she let out a long breath of smoke.
“…”
Cheon Ji-Myung’s path was filled with cigarette boxes, liquor bottles, pizza boxes, and empty bags of snacks.
In serious shock, Cheon Ji-Myung barely opened his mouth.
“W… What happened over the years?”
“A lot of things happened.”
Elsie led Cheon Ji-Myung to the table and showed him a few bottles of liquor.
“This is all I have because I only drink vodka. Would you like some?”
“No… I’m okay.”
“Phoo… Alright. I knew that Doctor Ryu would send someone from A-GenBio, but I didn’t think it would be you, Doctor Cheon.”
Elsie took a big sip of vodka.
“Did you come because of Rosaline?” she asked.
“No… Um… Mr. Ryu said he really wants to meet you. So…”
Elsie frowned. She thought for a moment.
‘Cheon Ji-Myung doesn’t know about Rosaline.’
She took another sip of vodka.
“Are you here because of Doctor Ref?” she asked again.
“Doctor Ref? Oh, he did look for you when that crazy terrorist was targeting the GSC International Conference.”
“… Ha.”
Elsie chuckled.
“That woman is not a crazy murderer. Her target was the GSC, not civilians.”
“What?”
“She probably carried out some attacks along the anthracis fence in Africa, but most of those places were borders that soldiers from other countries used to loot Congo’s resources. Recently, it seems like she’s interested in Xinjiang Uygur, but that’s probably…”
Elsie suddenly stopped talking.
“No, just forget it. I’m talking nonsense because I’m drunk,” she said, laughing.
“Elsie, I have something I want to ask you,” Cheon Ji-Myung said. “Why did you leave the Life Creation Department all of a sudden?”
“Because I felt a limit in my research,” Elsie said with a bitter smile. “I was not capable of creating life. I realized that early on and gave up. After I came back to the United States, I kept trying to make someone who could do tha…”
Bzz!
Cheon Ji-Myung’s phone buzzed.
“Sorry, just a moment.”
Cheon Ji-Myung took the call.
—Doctor Cheon!
It was Lead Scientist Bae Sun-Mi.
“What is it?”
—You said you were returning in two days, right?
“Yes. I have two days off after that, so I’ll be in next Monday.”
—I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to cancel your vacation…
“Pardon?”
—You should be getting used to this cycle now. It’s an urgent experiment, so we’re stuck with an all-nighter.
“… What’s it about?”
—We have to make artificial organs. a lot of them. We need as many technicians as we can get, and with your skills, you have to participate.
“Is it an order from Mr. Ryu?”
—Yes. He called us himself and asked for our help.
* * *
Young-Joon was driving into the university hospital in Xinjiang Uygur. He didn’t believe Chen Shui in the first place; there was no way something like this was legal.
—I’ll look for some data.
Rosaline released thousands of her cells around the hospital and began searching. Even if it was a room with top-secret data guarded by the highest level of security, they couldn’t stop a cell from slipping through the keyhole or door crack.
Then, something caught Rosaline’s eye as she was thoroughly searching the hospital.