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McGill, News, SSMU

SSMU Academic Wellness Plan aims to improve student mental health amidst McGill’s rigorous academic culture

by Fanny Sachet on

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On Jan. 28 2021, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council adopted the Academic Wellness Plan. The plan aims to provide a preventive and holistic alternative to previous approaches that focussed exclusively on crisis intervention and service provision. Given that the SSMU Mental Health Policy and Plan acknowledges that the rigorous academic environment at McGill fosters an “overall increased potential of a mental health crisis” in students, SSMU Mental Health Commissioners were inspired to act on the policy and to spearhead the Academic Wellness Plan. The plan includes a faculty training initiative, mental health literacy programs, a MyCourses add-on, and more.

SSMU Mental Health Commissioner Julia Caddy, U3 Arts, who has been working on the proposal since its inception last year, explained that the Academic Wellness Proposal intends to facilitate preventative mental wellness within the specific cultural and academic context of the McGill community.

“The plan is an effort to address mental health at McGill at a systemic and upstream level,” Caddy said. “So instead of looking at the services we provide when students are in crisis or generally facing distress, we’re looking at the environments that we’re setting up, the culture that we’re creating and the community that we’re fostering. And since we’re an academic institution, a lot of this is around the classroom, the academic environment.”

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, SSMU mental health advocacy coordinator Julian Guidote, L1 law, explained that stable mental health and academic excellence are not only individually significant, but complementary. Guidote hopes SSMU’s plan will bolster both.

“One thing that we don’t want to say is that the two ideas, academic rigor and mental health, are diametrically opposed,” Guidote said. “They go hand in hand, and an improvement of one does not mean the detriment to the other.”

Kerry Yang, U3 Science and a Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) Senator noted that the Academic Wellness Plan is intended to benefit not only students, but the McGill community as a whole, including faculty and staff.

“We understand that professors are also very stressed and have a lot of work on their plate,” Yang said. “So, a lot of our focus is through incentive-based approaches rather than a top-down enforcement mechanism because we understand we need to care about instructors’ mental health as well, because if their mental health is not good, then they can’t create healthy environments in the classroom.”

Olivia Bornyi, U2 Arts and SSMU mental health outreach coordinator, outlined some of the concrete ways that the plan is currently being implemented at McGill, touching on cultural shifts in the classroom and the roles of instructors.

“There is a MyCourses pop-up that now says, ‘take care of your mental health’ [with links to resources]. That’s something that the strategic plan has been able to successfully implement here,” Bornyi said in an interview with the Tribune. “We also ensure that there’s faculty training so that teachers are aware of how to recognize if someone is having a crisis. [Faculty] are also provided with documents […], in order to help out students and to foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment within their classrooms.”

Moving forward, Caddy and other students involved with the strategic wellness plan encourage the McGill community to begin critically examining the academic culture. 

“We can look at how the classroom environment can be better, how different processes can be better,” Caddy said. “Rather than assuming that the status quo is the status quo […], we can really challenge that and do so in an educated way, whether that’s looking into what other students are doing or looking into it yourself and having conversations about it.”

McGill, News

SSMU Board of Directors approves motion to spend 17k on refurnishing the SSMU ballroom

by Leo Larman Brown on

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The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD), held their third meeting of 2022 on Feb. 10. The meeting began with a 30-minute open session and then closed for a confidential meeting amongst the directors. In the open session, the directors agreed  to create a peer support system during BoD meetings where triggering topics are discussed. SSMU vice-president (VP) Finance Éric Sader also provided an update about the status of the collective insurance plan for McGill students, and directors unanimously approved funding for refurnishing of the SSMU ballroom.

Legislative Council representative Yara Coussa presented a motion that would require SSMU establish a peer support system to provide a safe space for board members when discussing sensitive topics in board meetings.

“After conversations with different directors, we noticed that there [was a need to] support directors when discussing triggering topics,” Coussa said during the meeting. “This motion seeks to set up a process to mandate external bodies […] to come to board meetings when these topics are discussed.”

VP Internal Sarah Paulin supported the idea and proposed assigning the Anti-Violence Coordinators (AVC)—the employees responsible for coordinating SSMU’s response to sexual violence—to provide this support for directors during the meeting. Paulin did, however, express some concerns about having AVCs, who are non-board members, listen in on confidential meetings. 

“I think that’s a lovely idea, and I know for a fact that the AVCs would be willing to do it,” Paulin said. “We also have to think about confidentiality. Obviously, the [AVCs] are also bound by confidentiality, but there are some things that they just don’t need to know.”

Sader then gave an update on the dispute between the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the organization responsible for financial regulation in Quebec, and student unions across Quebec. The AMF proposed measures that would end group insurance policies for students next year; however, SSMU and other student organizations’ campaigns have temporarily prevented those measures.

“There was a mandate by the AMF, that came out yesterday, following the press blitz that we have been doing, where they have stood back, so we are still guaranteed to have insurance as of next year,” Sader said. “However, they have still not reneged on their desire to implement regulations that would end […] collective insurance programs through student associations.”

VP Student Life Karla Heisele Cubilla also proposed that SSMU invest $17,027.30 plus tax to replace the ballroom’s aging furniture. Heisele Cubilla drew on her experience with student groups to give justification for the replacement. 

“All student groups use the ballroom for their events and all the tables that we have are really worn down because it’s been years since the last reno,” Heisele Cubilla said. “This is just to benefit student groups so that they can have better events at the SSMU building.”

The motion was unanimously passed. 

The meeting ended with a report by the nominating committee stating that they have selected three new representatives for the judicial board and one representative for the international students’ representatives position.

Moment of the Meeting:

An update by VP Finance Éric Sader revealed that the dispute between the SSMU and the AMF over the AMF’s plans to cancel group insurance for students is ongoing. He informed the board that a coalition of 57 colleges, universities, CEGEPS, and student unions, including the SSMU, have been on a press tour to fight the AMF’s decision. 

Soundbite: 

“I just wanted to thank Heisele Cubilla for the hard work she put into [the ballroom refurnishing plan]. She looked into three options and found one that is significantly cheaper than the others. So thank you for your work towards this motion. I appreciate it.” 

—Council Representative Benson Wan showing appreciation for Heisele Cubilla

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

Growing up in the West as an Asian woman: Being the ‘Other,’ fetishization, and self-love

by Brontë Grimmer on

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Growing up in the West as an Asian woman is an experience of sharp contradictions. While those from Asia or of Asian descent are told that they “are one of us” through performative displays of diversity, they are made to feel like the “Other.”

This was the message from a recent panel hosted by the East Asian studies student journal, Orientations, called “Growing Up in the West: East Asian Perspectives.” The event brought together three McGill students, Estelle Mi, Annette Hong Kim, and Angelina Guo, to discuss their experiences as Asian women and activists. 

Everything was on the table: Multiculturalism, childhood, romantic relationships, bi- and tri-lingualism, fetishization, self-love, and the panellists’ journeys toward self-acceptance.

Guo grew up in Montreal and Longueuil, a Montreal suburb. A translator and literature student, she made her mark last spring when she delivered an impassioned speech at an anti-Asian hate rally.

“I already knew I was different when I was in Montreal because there weren’t that many Asians,” Guo said. “In Longueuil, I realized that without even saying anything, people perceived me as this ‘Other,’ and that ‘Other’ was a subject worthy of getting mocked and either verbally or physically assaulted.”

Mi’s story was quite different, having grown up in a relatively liberal, colour-blind bubble of multiculturalism at the international schools she attended. Born in Lyon, her parents were immigrants from China to France. 

“The first time I felt that I was the ‘Other’ was when the pandemic started and I faced my first assault,” Mi recalled. “It was the first time I realised my identity was a problem in my everyday life.” 

Guo’s feeling of “Otherness” was etched into her memories by incidents from her childhood. “I thought [the attacks] were my fault and that whatever is repulsive about me is tied to my [Chinese] ethnicity,” Guo said. “I think that is why I spent so long detached from my culture because it was so dangerous. It was a way of surviving.”

A Korean-Canadian born in the Netherlands, who spent part of her childhood in South Korea, Hong Kim discussed the phenomenon of pushing away one’s culture as a survival tactic.

“One of the things I’m really proud of is that I’ve never wanted to be someone else,” Hong Kim said. “I know that’s a pretty common thing in our community—to not want to be Asian. That’s the only way we can survive—to forget our language, forget our culture, eat Western food, not listen to our culture’s music, and not watch our films.”

The panellists went on to discuss the duality of fetishization and repulsiveness that often comes with being an Asian woman in the West. 

“When I was young, I never felt that I was part of the Western beauty ideals,” Mi said. “In a sense, I felt that I was not a woman. For so long I felt that no one would love me because all I saw in the media were white women.”

In tandem, Guo described the difficulties she has been forced to navigate as someone whose cultural identity is degraded and objectified. 

“When I turned 12, that’s when the catcalls started, that’s when I started getting followed and stalked, and when men would come up to me, they would ask where I’m from.” Guo said. “It’s been a weird thing to comprehend, because what once used to be the reason why people despised me and attacked me became a very desirable thing for men.”

Despite these alienating experiences that many Asian women experience at the hands of men and the media, Mi offered an optimistic counterpart to Guo’s and Hong Kim’s panels, describing her personal journey of finding self-love and acceptance. 

“Today, I can say that I accept my Chinese identity,” Mi said. “Two years ago, when I was facing all of this anti-Asian racism, I wanted to eradicate my Chinese identity.”

Guo highlighted the importance of processing trauma and continuing to discuss these issues. 

“I encourage everyone to keep talking. Having multiple heritages and speaking multiple languages is something that enriches you so much,” Guo said. “I think we are very lucky to be at a point in time when people are listening to us.”

Campus Spotlight, Student Life

From socialism’s romantic influences to skeletal bromances, multifaceted love through time and space

by Isabella González on

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Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the History Students’ Association (HSA) and the Classic Students’ Association (CSA) hosted their annual  “Love In The Time Of” panel on Feb. 10. The event featured four researchers and faculty members from the department of history and classical studies who delivered lectures on diverse instances of love throughout time, including love’s impact on socialism and queer histories in London.

The evening began with Natalie Cornett, a postdoctoral research fellow in the history department. Her lecture focussed on Rosa Luxemburg, a socialist revolutionary, and her reflections on love and joy while imprisoned in Germany for her political activities. While incarcerated, Luxemburg wrote letters to console her colleague and friend Sophie Liebknecht, a member of the Communist Spartacus League whose husband was also in prison. 

Cornett drew interesting connections between socialism and love. Given that one of the goals of socialism is to rid humanity of inequality and egotism, many socialist thinkers, including Luxemburg, drew inspiration from the Romantic period and earlier concepts of love when crafting their political agenda. These influences were reflected in Luxemburg’s letters; despite being surrounded by death and poor living conditions, she nevertheless showed Liebknecht compassion and love, urging her to stay strong. 

Following Cornett’s lecture, archaeology professor Darian Totten discussed the history of bromance through skeletons. Twenty years ago, a pair of skeletons holding hands dating back to Ancient Rome were discovered in Modena, Italy. When the story broke, many assumed it was a heterosexual couple buried together. Professor Totten explained that because the skeletons were poorly preserved, it was initially difficult to tell their gender through the pelvis or the size of the skull. However, new technologies that detect the peptides in teeth, which differ between sexes, revealed that both the skeletons were male. 

Totten proposed that the relationship between the two skeletons could have been a bromance. This should come as no surprise, Totten explained, referencing the iconic first Imperial bromances between Maecenas and Augustus and later of Marcus Agrippa and Augustus. Statues of soldiers who displayed affection for each other were also common in Ancient Rome. 

However, Totten points out that the relationship between the skeletons will never be certain just by looking at the burial and analyzing the historical context at the time.

“When we look at burials, we have to be really careful because they might not represent the final wish of the individuals who had died, especially individuals who die earlier in life and don’t necessarily express their wishes before they die,” Totten said.

The penultimate speaker of the night, professor Brian Lewis, explored the love life of English gay novelist E.M. Forster. Forster lived in England during the 19th and 20th centuries, when queer relationships were illegal. As Forster grew older, Lewis explained, he became more aware of his sexuality, especially in his 20s. Forster dreamed of a world where he could freely love a man and be loved by a man. In 1930, Forster was experiencing loneliness, despite being a successful literary figure. It was during this low state when he met Bob Buckingham. After exchanging books and knowledge, they pursued a sexual relationship, despite Bob’s heterosexual marriage.

“For much of the second half of his life, he had lived at least part of his dream to love a strong man of the lower classes and to be loved by him,” Lewis said.

Though Valentine’s Day in the modern age is traditionally tied to romance and gift-giving,  “Love In The Time Of”’s annual reflections look to the past to redefine love and uncover its enduring multiplicity. 

Laughing Matters, Opinion

How to talk to the only Black person at work

by Matthew Molinaro on

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To kick off Black History Month, The McGill Tribune has prepared ways for you to talk to the only Black person in your workplace. Remember to speak to a Black person is to move closer to racial justice. Those were the words of Colin Powell or Clarence Thomas or Candace Owens I think.

Always stalk your co-worker. Every conversation requires preparation. Leave your high-rise, and go check out where the gentrifiers don’t go.

They’re in their cubicle. Note their hair––the kink pattern will tell you if they are more of a Real Housewives of Atlanta or Potomac Black person. No kink? No problem! That’s not their hair, silly goose! And they’d love it if you comment about how unnatural their hair is. Wig, weave, extension, repeat these words. You listen to Drake, so. Work your way up their neck and touch—nay, grab!—their hair. If they’re wearing it out in the open, it’s open country! As you remember from the anti-racism training that Rita from HR forced you to go to twice, Black people aren’t a monologue or the disease mono or whatever, so try and touch each one.

Begin talking to them. You’ll become their white friend here, and they’ll like you. Black people also want to be in romantic, and disturbingly physical, relationships with white people. We both know how beautiful mixed-race children are. Think of famous mixed people! Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, they always become politicians in the U.S., end of list. You can invite them home to your mom, who remembers when Canada wasn’t so divided and Indian people didn’t exist before Apu from The Simpsons, and your dad who always pays his Black housekeeper whose name he can never remember (Lucinda, Jemima, Condoleezza?) under minimum wage.

You’re not like your parents though. You’re a good white person, a noble ally white person, put-BLM-in-my-bio white person. Your favourite movie is The Help and it reminds you that Viola Davis looks so much like your dad’s housekeeper who raised you.

Don’t get too overwhelmed with your future plans of having biracial children. You work with them, you’ll be professional (unlike their hair). Focus on the now. You don’t see colour, they’re just another co-worker like Gina from accounting who is Filipina or Hispanic or Latina (what’s the x all about?) or Mexican or Asian. You’ll figure that out later.

Continue the conversation and stare at their features. 

Are they light skin? If so, ask if they are from South Africa. Your uncle went once in the ‘90s! Talk about Charlize Theron, and share the Afrikaans swear words you learned from your sister’s ex-husband’s rugby league. Tell them they’re smart and articulate for a coloured person or whatever they call those people in South Africa (half-breed, mulatto?). They care that you’re trying. They’re not supposed to just fit in with white people!

Ask this light skinned god or goddess which parent is the one like you, the white one. If it is the mother, make a joke about their Karen mother and their sellout father. If it is the father, ask them how great it is to have a father who didn’t abandon them. Do you think you’re crossing the line? You’re not: Remember that Black people came out with that song We Are Family.

The darker their skin, the thicker your accent should be. Do be advised that that’s how Lilly Singh and Awkwafina got famous! If you are in Toronto, make sure you sound like you stepped off of the shores of Montego Bay. You went to Sandals once! Remember, your mom was too scared to go because of disease and poverty and voodoo. 

If you are in the United States, every Black person is from the South. Bring watermelon, fried chicken, and collard greens. If your co-worker is a woman, holler at her and call her “mama.” If he’s a man, wait until he gives you permission to use the n-word. Consent is implied. That’s what friends are for! You’ll sound like you’re one of your favourite rappers. Aren’t Black people fun!

McGill, News

‘Women in Policy’ panel talks tackling patriarchy in policymaking

by Shani Laskin on

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On Feb. 8, the McGill Women in Leadership (MWIL) and the McGill Policy Association (MPA) collaborated in hosting a virtual panel titled “Women in Policy.” The event featured three panelists: Nirushaa Senthilnathan, a senior policy analyst at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); Maeva Vilain, the borough councillor for the district of Jeanne-Mance; and Muna Tojiboeva, a current law student at McGill, former Parliament Hill staffer, and previous Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) president.

After outlining their individual career journeys, the speakers shared the obstacles they faced in politics and policymaking, offering hard-earned advice to students who wish to pursue similar paths. Senthilnathan spoke about how her identity as a woman and a daughter of refugees helped her pave her path in policymaking.

“One major challenge I can think of is […] learning how to navigate systems that we are unfamiliar with,” Senthilnathan said. “It sometimes felt like we were never told the rules of the game that we were playing so we had to figure out what that was very quickly.”

Senthilnathan received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from McGill in 2015 and is a 2020 graduate of McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. As the president and co-founder of the McGill Alumni Public Policy Society (MAPPS), Senthilnathan delved into the importance of forming connections with people in her professional life, encouraging audience members to get involved in groups they find interesting after university.

“My brother and I […] grew up with mostly people who were in blue-collar and service-sector jobs which meant that we didn’t have any contacts or mentors within the professional sector spaces,” Senthilnathan said about breaking into the field. “Oftentimes [jobs] aren’t posted [….] You have to go through certain networks, so if you think that you can apply to a hundred jobs into a black box and never talk to anyone, that’s not the way for you to be successful.”

Vilain, as an elected official, noted that a supportive workplace helps ease the sometimes stressful transition into the field.

“What helped me a lot was when I decided to be a candidate with Projet Montreal, there was a very, very clear equity policy [….] They wanted women to win their elections,” Vilain said. “My party, I would say, was a feminist party. It understood the importance of having women.” 

Tojiboeva spoke of her experiences as a young woman working on Parliament Hill, where she often struggled with ageism and feelings of imposter syndrome, and offered advice on how to overcome such challenges.

“If you’re a young political staffer, especially if you’re a young political staffer from an immigrant background who doesn’t know any other political staffers […] sometimes it feels like all of this policy and all of this responsibility […] is on your shoulders,” Tojiboeva said. “I would be reaching out to other people either for help or for support and it’s not a failure to do that.”

All the panellists agreed that fatigue from facing bureaucratic obstacles was a common experience among many women in policy. 

“More often than not, government is very slow, it’s bureaucratic,” Tojiboeva said. “It takes a lot of bandwidth out of you and you have to know what to prioritize and where to let go.”

Lis Riveros, U1 Arts and vice-president of Events for MWIL, helped organize the event. For Riveros, it was important to see women at varying life stages represented on the panel—and in the policymaking field at large.

“People attending the panel see people like Maeva and they think, ‘Okay, I can be […] a mother and still be able to take on such a large position,’” Riveros said. “But it’s also impressive to see people like Muna who are so fresh out of McGill being able to take on such a large challenge.”

Co-executive directors of the MPA, Michelle Marcus, U2 Arts, and Matthew McLaughlin, U3 Arts, hope that attendees walk away from the panel feeling inspired and excited to enter the field.

“We started thinking that we could really partner and create an opportunity for women and for female McGill students to really hear from some women who have been invested in the realm of policy,” Marcus said. “I think it’s really important that there are specific outlets and opportunities for [female-identifying students] to hear from female role models and women who have pursued careers in areas they are interested in.” 

McGill, News, The Tribune Explains

Tribune Explains: The loosening of COVID-19 restrictions on campus

by Ghazal Azizi on

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On Feb. 8, Premier François Legault announced the Quebec government’s plans to ease most pandemic measures in the province, with the exception of the vaccine passport and mask rules, by March 14. As the province reopens, McGill’s COVID-19 protocols will evolve accordingly. In university-wide emails sent out on Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, Deputy Provost Fabrice Labeau announced a first wave of loosened restrictions.

The McGill Tribune looked into the updated measures and the changes students can expect in the coming weeks.  

When will gyms and other extracurriculars be allowed to reopen?

The Quebec government announced on Feb. 1 that gyms and fitness centres can reopen at half capacity as of Feb. 14, provided that vaccine passports, social distancing measures, and masks are maintained. Legault also announced that sports and artistic activities for groups of up to 25 people will be allowed to resume at the same time. As such, McGill gyms are scheduled to reopen on Feb. 14. Other extracurricular activities are expected to follow on Feb. 28. 

When are members of the McGill administration and support staff returning to campus?

Starting Feb. 28, all administrative and support staff will be required to spend at least 30 per cent of their weekly work time in person. This number will gradually increase in the following weeks to support the university’s transition to pre-pandemic operations.  

Who can you call if you have symptoms or tested positive?

Students who were on campus in the 48 hours prior to developing symptoms are expected to report any positive diagnosis to the Case Management Group (CMG), regardless of whether the results are from a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or an antigen rapid test. The number to report symptoms and positive tests was recently changed. To contact the CMG, call 514-398-2920. 

What is happening to the Emergency Operations Centre?

On Feb. 14, the Recovery and Operations Resumptions Committee (ROR) will replace the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), and lead the university through its transition to pre-pandemic operations. The EOC, first activated in Jan. 2020 to coordinate McGill’s COVID-19 response, was previously deactivated on Nov. 1, 2021, but the centre was reactivated following the Omicron surge in Quebec. The EOC directly reported to a branch of the university’s senior leadership; Under the ROR, however, administrative operations and governance will return to their decentralized and pre-pandemic structures. 

How do the student body and the McGill administration view this transition?

Since McGill’s announcement of the return to in-person learning, many student associations have since gone on strike to protest the university’s reopening and its overall COVID-19  response.

Nathaniel Saad, U2 Management, is slighty apprehensive about the transition to pre-pandemic operations. 

“I am excited to [have] most of the restrictions slowly dissipate, but every time we try to open back, we end up having another wave,” Saad said in an interview with the Tribune. “I think it’s really important that as we start going back to normal, we still do our part [so that] we can be done with COVID as soon as possible.”

Frédérique Mazerolle, a McGill media relations officer, explained in an email that the administration is aware of the anxieties about the return to in-person, but that its decisions are always in accordance with public health guidelines.

“[McGill’s] measures, along with a high level of vaccination—more than 96 per cent of our students are now vaccinated with at least two doses—make us confident that we can maintain both our commitment to in-person academics and to ensuring that there is a safe environment on our campuses,” Mazerolle wrote.

Emma Herrle, U0 Arts and Science, finds McGill’s correspondence tedious. She expressed frustration with the university’s unclear communications about its decision-making logic. “There are a lot of emails that say nothing, just a lot of words and not a lot of substance,” Herrle said in an interview with the Tribune. “I don’t totally understand how they decide what’s in person and what’s online. For example, this semester, I have lectures with a hundred people that are in person, but my lab of twelve people is online. It just seems really random and arbitrary.”

Science & Technology

Behind the first pig-to-human heart transplant

by Chloe Gavrilovic on

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Human heart transplants have revolutionized treatments for terminally ill cardiac patients for the last 117 years, but a lack of donors has meant that every year, thousands are left with no other option than to wait on a seemingly endless waitlist. To combat this shortage, researchers are looking into other experimental approaches, including bioprinting, the use of engineered organs, and the transplantation of genetically-engineered pig hearts into humans.

Xenotransplantation—transplants that use organs from a different species—has been employed in a number of procedures, ranging from small skin grafts to entire kidney transplants. While the field has been around since the 19th century, it only recently started showing signs of success through the use of genetic engineering. On Jan. 7, 2022, years of research culminated in the first successful heart transplant from a pig to a human patient.

A cardiac patient at the University of Maryland Medical Center, David Bennett Sr. was ineligible for a traditional heart transplant due to the severity of his arrhythmia. His last resort for treatment was to undergo an experimental pig heart xenotransplant. Post-surgery, the 57-year-old patient remains stable, marking this procedure a success and a milestone in transplant history.

What distinguishes this successful transplant from previous attempts is that scientists genetically engineered the donor animal organ prior to surgery—a procedure vital in preventing the patient’s antibodies from rejecting the foreign material. Pig cells produce a sugar called alpha-gal that causes a fatal immunological reaction when transplanted into humans. To ensure a fully functional transplant, scientists must modify the donor genes to eliminate this sugar. On top of the removal of alpha-gal from the pig heart, six human genes were inserted into the pig heart to decrease the risk of rejection, while the three pig genes that caused an immunological reaction were removed. The researchers also removed an additional gene to prevent any excessive growth of the pig heart.

J. Matt Kinsella is an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at McGill whose research focusses on tissue engineering and bioprinting. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, he highlighted the risks of organ transplants using gene-edited tissues.

“A few of the challenges are getting the genes to the site where you want the function to occur,” Kinsella said. “If you try and just deliver a gene systemically to a person, it’s not a targeted system that would go directly to your cardiac tissue, it can go anywhere. You can knock out gene tissues that shouldn’t have that gene knocked out.”

While the risk of using gene-edited animal organs offers hope for those on transplant waitlists, there are still many ethical debates surrounding the procedure. Many view xenotransplants as a form of unnecessary animal cruelty, while others think its potential to save many human lives outweigh these concerns. 

“I think that might be what is missing right now, the public opinion on a lot of this work,” Kinsella said. “On the scientific side, we find it very fascinating that we can do this, but it came out pretty quick and I don’t know that there’s been much consultation [with] the public.”

In fact, the Food and Drug Administration only approved the procedure because it was the patient’s only remaining option.

As biomedical and bioengineering fields develop, scientists can avoid using living organisms as organ donors by looking toward tissue engineering and bioprinting in transplants. However, these complex fields are not advanced enough to perform procedures at the organ level yet. Such transplants are not suitable for every patient, either, as some people are more susceptible to allergies or have adverse reactions to biomaterials.

“To complete an entire anatomically correct, functioning heart is something we are still very far away from,” Kinsella said.

The first successful heart xenotransplant, although controversial, is a critical turning point in the evolution of organ transplants and a valuable learning opportunity for many researchers to better understand the influence of genetics on the field of biomedicine.

Creative, Video

Valentine’s at McGill

by Kate Gelinas on

More in Creative:

Staff Producer Kate Gelinas collects cupid’s arrows and first loves’ stories at McGill in this special Valentine’s Day video.

Creative, Video

McGill Minute – February 14, 2022

by Tess Pilkington on

More in Creative:

Staff Writer Tess Pilkington brings you the top stories of the week in the Tribune’s weekly news segment, “McGill Minute”.

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