While strolling down the red carpet at China’s massive World War 2 victory parade on Wednesday, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and Russian warlord Vladimir Putin were caught on a hot microphone discussing the use of organ transplants to dramatically extend their lifespans.
The conversation seems to have been inadvertently broadcast by Chinese state media, since Xi and Putin apparently believed they were having a private conversation. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, the junior varsity member of Xi’s legion of doom, was walking beside them but was not involved in the conversation.
The exchange began with Xi remarking through his interpreter, “People rarely lived to be over 70, but these days, at 70 you are still a child.” Putin and Xi are both 72 years old.
“Biotechnology is making advances. Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become — even achieve immortality,” Putin responded.
That is not actually how organ transplants work, so Putin was either indulging in a bit of poetic license, or he watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on the flight to Beijing and it made a huge impression on him.
“Some predict that in this century, humans may live to 150 years old,” Xi said.
The New York Times (NYT) noted on Wednesday that Putin has a longstanding “personal interest in longevity,” and has even ordered the Russian health ministry to make increased life expectancy a “key priority.”
Last year, Russia’s giant state energy company Rosatom claimed it was developing a method to 3D-print functioning human organs. Putin has also ordered research into cellular rejuvenation, neurotechnology, and organ regeneration. By a happy coincidence, his daughter Maria Vorontsova happens to work in those fields, and has received hefty state research grants.
The life expectancy of Russian men has perked up a bit from a dismal low of about 58 in the 1990s. It is currently about 68, at least for men who don’t have to worry about being sent to fight on the front lines in Ukraine, so Putin is already ahead of the curve. He rewrote the Russian constitution in 2020 to keep himself in power until 2036, at which time he will be 83, and seems healthy enough to make it another 11 years without replacing his organs.
Xi does not appear to share Putin’s preoccupation with longevity, and has even stopped dying his grey hair. This is good news for prospective Chinese organ donors, as Xi’s regime has a grievous history of harvesting organs from unwilling prisoners. Listening to a Chinese dictator talk about longevity through organ transplants is like hearing Count Dracula explain how you can live to be 600 on the right liquid diet.
Dr. James Markmann, president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Executive Council, told Fox News that while transplants are “a lifesaving and life-prolonging procedure for patients with organ failure,” there is no evidence they could help people live to be 150, much less become immortal.
“I won’t comment on the private musings of world leaders, but we must remember that more than 100,000 individuals in the United States are currently awaiting lifesaving organ transplants. The ethical concern isn’t immortality but equity, access, and making sure organs save lives today,” Markmann said.
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