Putin And Xi Want To Achieve Immortality With Organ Transplants. Could They?

As they strolled through Tiananmen Square during China’s over-the-top Victory Day military parade, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were caught on camera discussing the possibility of undergoing multiple organ transplants in order to become immortal. Given that both men have recently doctored their countries’ constitutions to remove any limits on their time in office, it would seem that their biological transience is now the only thing stopping them from ruling indefinitely, so it’s only logical that the authoritarian pair should take an interest in such matters. But is it feasible?

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“Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and… even achieve immortality,” said Putin to Xi - who are both 72 - via an interpreter. Despite neither man being particularly famous for their scientific pedigree or groundbreaking anti-aging research, the Chinese strongman was only too happy to contribute to the fanciful conversation, responding that “some predict that this century humans may live to 150 years old.”

In fact, that’s not completely untrue, as it has been speculated that humans may theoretically have the capacity to live to the age of 150. In practice, though, it’s highly unlikely anyone will ever reach this milestone until we come up with cures for cancer and a whole host of other medical conditions. 

To date, no one has ever outlived Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122. And some researchers doubt that anyone ever will, as there’s a theory that human organs have a maximum lifespan of around 120 years.

All of which brings us neatly to Putin and his lust for youthful organs. Of course, it’s impossible to say for sure whether one could actually survive indefinitely by continually renewing their bits like worn-out car parts, because no one has ever tried it.

Of all the very obvious reasons for this, perhaps the most glaring is that human organs don’t grow on trees, and there’s currently a devastating shortage for those who really need them, let alone political dictators with tyrannical dreams of ruling forever. To get around this, researchers are working on making animal organs compatible for human use - a concept known as xenotransplantation.

Over the last few years, a handful of people have received genetically-modified pig hearts and kidneys, though not all of these patients survived for more than a few months. To prevent recipients’ immune systems from rejecting these foreign organs, scientists had to remove certain sugars from the surface of the pigs’ cells.

However, while the idea of xenotransplantation is not new – and was actually pioneered by French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys in the 17th century – it’s extremely unlikely that the medical technology will become commonplace enough to prevent either Putin or Xi from going past their sell-by date.

Rather than pinning their hopes on pig hearts and monkey testicles, then, the power-loving duo might want to take an interest in ongoing genetic research into the possibility of reversing the aging process. In particular, scientists are attempting to harness genes known as Yamanaka factors, which turn old cells back into induced pluripotent stem cells, essentially making them young again.

For now, though, this research is (somewhat appropriately) in its infancy, which means that any world leader hoping to extend their stay on Earth would be best served eating well, exercising regularly and refraining from smoking. That said, research on mice has shown that low-dose cannabis use may have an anti-aging effect, while there’s also evidence to suggest that magic mushrooms could help to keep us young.

To be honest, that sounds much more fun than periodically swapping out your organs.