Amazing news regarding our friend Jim Parsons, RIP #321

[Fjrbandit]

Those of you that are regular SFO attendees will remember our great friend, Jim Parsons, who died in a motorcycle racing accident this past September. We honored Jim at SFO 2021 this year by dedicating Friday's night's gathering in his honor. That evening I told those in attendance that he had made a special contribution to the world by way of organ donation. What I could not tell everyone at the time was that his body was used in a major experiment in a first-ever pig to human kidney transplant. The transplant study was performed at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) the last week of September, the week following his demise. UAB announced the results of the transplant study earlier this morning at a press conference in Birmingham. The story has instantly gained worldwide attention.

Here's a link to the story in the New York Times today, with Jim's picture of him next to his beloved XR650 at the top of Flag Mountain, Colorado in early September 2021, where he told his sons, prophetically, that he wanted them to spread his ashes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/heal ... idney.html

Here's a link to the New York Post story in the event you can't get into the NY Times link -

https://nypost.com/2022/01/20/pig-to-hu ... -donation/

And here is a more detailed story of the transplant process, published by UAB at a press conference this morning. Embedded in the article is a video interview with his kids talking about their wonderful father. Man, it's moving stuff for me, I hope it is for you too!

https://www.uab.edu/news/campus/item/12 ... dead-human

He was a very giving person in life and now in death he leaves a legacy of giving that even he could never have imagined. I couldn't be more proud of my brother from another mother, James (Jim) Parsons, RIP #321!

[wheatonFJR]

Wow. Thanks for sharing that.

RIP Jim.
(Tears of reminder)

[CraigRegs]

Not ashamed to say I shed tears reading that. What an indescribably generous action by Jim's family. Humbled to have met him. RIP and may your memory live on forever, Jim.

[raYzerman]

RIP and thank you Jim!
I had watched a news blurb about the pig heart transplant the week before. Amazing stuff.

[Festus]

Apparently some dust in my eye here as well. You read about people like that and can't help but feel inferior at life. What a human being he must have been. My loss for never meeting him. I'm not sure I even know any people like that!

Happy that his legacy lives on in his kids. I'm sure with a father with that type of character, surely they'll be outstanding humans as well.

[Powerman]

Never met him, sounds like a great guy. I've had several non-FJR folks tell me their stories about him.

[gixxerjasen]

They should make everyone who benefits from this type of transplant, upon leaving the hospital to go and build the biggest damn bonfire they possibly can in celebration.

[LKLD]

This story is absolutely incredible. To have this breakthrough, where kidneys are possibly readily available, could be life saving for 10,000’s, if not millions of people. What a legacy Jim left for his family, and friends, to be incredibly proud of.

[natehawk750]

Man, that just hit me in the feels. I considered Jim a friend immediately after we first met... hearing about his passing was a gut punch... literally knocked the wind out of me. I was leaving for Texas for the RAT the next morning and was going over last minute checklists when I heard the news and it was like the breath was taken out of me as I was looking forward to seeing him and hanging around the fire in a few weeks. I contemplated not going the next day, but knew I had to but with a new purpose.

He will be missed and I'm proud to have known him.

Rest easy friend and find the good roads to show us on the other side.

[Tyler]

Not ashamed to say I shed tears reading that. What an indescribably generous action by Jim's family. Humbled to have met him. RIP and may your memory live on forever, Jim.

Well said, my friend, and your sentiments are echoed here.

xoxo

[Tyler]

Nice video/article:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/doctors ... t-82387019

[gixxerjasen]

I cross posted this over on Two Wheeled Texans. I got this interesting reply in particular.

Jim was a great guy, in more ways than most who never met him would ever know! I registered when I was 15, and coincidentally am now on the transplant waiting list for a kidney transplant!

He will be greatly missed!

[bungie4]

In my daily surf i stumbled across this.

Thanks Jim, your selfless act has given hope to all the people waiting for organ transplants.

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-clinical ... first-time

[1911]

Wow!

I haven’t been hanging out here lately as much as usual. And I hadn’t read this thread.

I didn’t know Jim.

I hope what I post here doesn’t belittle the loss those who did feel.

ABC re-aired the story that Tyler linked on GMA3 today as I was headed out the door for work this afternoon. It caught my attention for a couple reasons. First the dirt bike racing. I love off road racing. It is a BIG FAMILY deal. My girls didn’t ride but I drug them and their mama all over the southeast when I was entering races. Going to the races, and later as a member of a promoting club I got to know and watch families with multiple generations of racers grow up. Part of my club duties for a half dozen years was to follow up on all the ambulance rides and report to the liability insurance provider. Luckily, never a fatality.

Didn’t know this Jim but I sure have known a lot of “Jim’s” and their families. Race families are TIGHT. Generations playing in the woods together beats the teens doing all they can to put distance between themselves and their parents. I’m sure the loss is great and my condolences to those that did know him.

There is another more selfish and comparatively insignificant reason that I and some other folk like me have our ears perk up when stories like this pop up. More on that later.

So, for a couple reasons this story stops me as I’m headed out the door. I’m watching it and am shocked when I recognize the couple on the screen with Jim and his kids.



And that’s how I ended up here after work tonight.

Now for the insignificance that causes some of us to follow these genetically altered pig stories.

One of the genetic modifications on the pigs is to delete the alpha-gal sugar in the pigs that those of us bitten by the Lone Star tick are allergic to.

There may be some baby back ribs in our futures after all

And oh yea, hopefully we don’t need them but it could put some heart valves and cancer drugs back in play for us to.

From Wiki:

Alpha-gal is present in the anticancer drug cetuximab, as well as the intravenous fluid replacements Gelofusine and Haemaccel. Blood thinners derived from porcine intestine and replacement heart valves derived from porcine tissue may also contain alpha-gal.[19]
At least one instance of a man with an alpha-gal allergy going into anaphylaxis after receiving a heart valve transplant has been reported.[19] Some researchers have suggested that the alpha-gal in pig's tissue that surgeons use for xenografts might contribute to organ rejection.[24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha- ... %202002.



Science-and contributions like Jim's-WOW!

[Road Runner]

I never met Jim but wish I did. What an amazing thing him and his family have done.
Rest in peace Jim.