Writer's Block: How Soon Is Now?
I'd like to see a few things, but they are all related, if oddly. I'd like to see a cure for retinal degeneration, some way to regenerate the retina in someone who has lost a great deal of theirs. I'd also like to see a way to eliminate antirejection medication for transplant recipients. A way to do that would be to find a way to generate new organs, for those who need them, that the body does not see as foreign. The reason I'd like to see these happen in my lifetime, and the reason they are related, is because I would benefit from all of them. I have a rare genetic disease that's caused my retinas to degenerate. I also have kidney disease, and have had two failed transplants. I've been waiting on my third transplant since May of 2004. With every failed transplant, the body builds up a resistance, making the chances of the next one failing even better. If thebody never recognized the organ as foreign, there would be no need for antirejection medication, which can be toxic, to mask the organ from the immune system. Transplantation could then be considered a cure, and not a treatment, as the patient would only ever need the one.