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This book examines the transferability of Japanese organizational practices to Japanese owned industrial transplants in the United States, and demonstrates that relations of power and conflict on the corporate structural level are equally as significant as the social and cultural differences between American and Japanese practices in the workplace. The research is based upon extensive ethnographic fieldwork at automotive transplants in the Midwest and high-tech transplants in California, as well as a case study company in New Mexico, and focuses primarily on their adaptation to the US industrial environment.
Extensive interviews demonstrate that organizational practices of Japanese transplants are significantly different from either their Japanese or American counterparts. Relations of power at the case study company are examined in depth and reveal two contrasting forms of control. American managers tend to exert hierarchical control in the manufacturing department using a top down approach and clear distinctions between work and private lives. In contrast, the Japanese managers utilize what the author calls "poka-yoke" (fail-proof) control over the repair department. Poka-yoke control is characterized by strict attendance and dress codes, emphasizing loyalty and dedication to work. At the same time, the US. headquarters in New York and the parent company in Japan impose remote control, thus limiting the autonomy of local managers. ... Read more

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This book offers coverage of the important topics such as the 'postcode lottery', organ allocation and deceased and living donor organs. It provides practical information about the operation, medication and the first three months after transplant. It offers post-transplant advice: how to look after yourself and your new kidney. Real life accounts of people who have experienced the issues are discussed. All the 'Key Facts' are summarised at the end of each chapter. ... Read more

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When Cassie's face is mutilated in an acid attack she doesn't think she'll ever be able to look in the mirror again. But a pioneering doctor offers to perform a revolutionary new procedure that will give Cassie a whole new face. It's at the swanky private clinic that Cassie first meets Wayne - another guinea pig for groundbreaking new treatment...Wayne helps Cassie through a gruesome transplant and they both hope to carry on with a 'normal' life. But there's something suspicious about the clinic and it's wealthy patients and, even more sinister, Cassie's new identity can't stop her past catching up with her... ... Read more

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An unprecedented inside-the-lab look at a promising but controversial frontier of medical research raises provocative questions about medical ethics, animal experimentation, and the relationship between science and business

Dr. David H. Sachs of the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital is not a household name, but within medical science, he is a giant. An immunologist and surgeon, Sachs has made significant contributions in the field of organ transplantation - contributions which, some believe, might someday bring him the Nobel Prize. But Sachs's real passion-and the possibility for a revolution in medicine-lays in his work in xenotransplantation: using animal parts to treat sick people. Untold thousands of people die every year waiting for the traditional transplant, in which human organs are used - and xenotransplantation might save them.It could also lead to a multi-billion-dollar business.The government and outside companies have invested millions of dollars in Sachs's work in the hopes of staking a lucrative claim in thefuture of medicine.

As The Xeno Chronicles begins, Sachs's decades of work and hopes have all converged on a genetically engineered, cloned pig named Goldie, whose organs have been designed not to be rejected by their recipients.And so experiments begin, with organs from Goldie and similar pigs being transplanted into baboons, a rarefied research that only a handful of scientists are engaged in.Just as Sachs begins to get unprecedented results, he loses his biggest financial support and the collaboration of an important outside lab. He is almost 62.Time and money are starting to run out....

G. Wayne Miller's absorbing, dramatic narrative account of a brilliant scientist's attempts to achieve a breakthrough offers an illuminating look into the minds, hearts, labs, and practical realities of those on the very forefront of medical science.Based on exclusive and unprecedented inside-the-lab access, The Xeno Chronicles clarifies both how science works and the ethical issues it raises through an absorbing human story and intimate portrait of Sachs, his colleagues, and patients.Amazon.com Review
For the 87,000 people on the waiting list for transplants in the United States alone, stem cell research leading to cloned human organs is a distant hope. Far more likely in the short run, at least according to its most passionate advocates, is xenotransplantation, or transplantation across species. Putting animal organs into humans may seem distasteful or even unethical, but in The Xeno Chronicles, G. Wayne Miller shows readers why it might be worth pursuing. The book follows the scientific trials and tribulations of Dr. David H. Sachs of the Harvard Medical School in his quest to successfully transplant into baboons the organs of a "double-knockout" pig--cloned and genetically engineered so that its DNA lacks two copies of the gene that causes its cells to be rejected by other species. Over the course of the book, Miller follows the fate of pig #15502, known as Goldie. Considering her ultimate fate, it's odd that Miller goes out of his way to relate how cute and cuddly the pig is. "Goldie passed a restful night and was happy and playful at breakfast that morning," he writes, then proceeds to describe her quiet, surgical end.

Animal rights activists likely won't appreciate how kind and gentle the animal researchers are to their subjects, and Miller gives them their say in the book. A PETA member points out that if people didn't eat so much bacon, they wouldn't need pig hearts to keep themselves alive. Still, Miller points out that the majority of patients waiting for organs did nothing to bring on their disease, and they have little choice right now but to wait--and wait--and sometimes die waiting for human donor organs. In this light, it's hard not to root for Sachs's passion for getting xenotransplantation right in a constant race against time and the medical research bureaucracy. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Sounds like a good idea BUT
It seems like the more progress we make, the more we realize just how much we don't know.

Transplanting animal organs into people sure sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?It's been tried for decades with invariably disastrous results; the "Baby Fae" debacle, mentioned in this book, is by far the best known.

I'm deducting a star for the way the book seems to drop off a cliff, with a hint of propaganda.

OTOH, like other G. Wayne Miller books, it remains a good story with interesting and colorful characters.

An excellent job of keeping a fast pace and a scientific eye on Dr. Sachs' promise and progress
G. Wayne Miller's The Xeno Chronicles: Two Years On The Frontier Of Medicine Inside Harvard's Transplant Research Lab focuses on Dr. David Sachs, a pioneer in immunology who has made many contributions in the field of organ transplants. His real passion lies in xenotransplantion: using animal parts to treat and replace human parts, and The Xeno Chronicles here examines his decades of work and the genetically engineered, cloned pig Goldie designed for organs which are not rejected by recipients. From limits of research money and time to moral and ethical concerns, The Xeno Chronicles does an excellent job of keeping a fast pace and a scientific eye on Dr. Sachs' promise and progress.

Scilitera.com Review...
G. Wayne Miller is a journalist with a keen interest in the personal and professional lives of medical pioneers, who are little known outside their field. His past books include King of Hearts and The Work of Human Hands, both of which recount the day to day experiences of pioneers in the field of surgery.

In The Xeno Chronicles, Miller documents the behind-the-scenes activities of Dr. David H. Sachs, a legend in transplantation research. Dr. Sachs is determined to advance the field of cross-species transplants, known as xeno-transplantation. Miller gained exclusive access to Harvard's transplant research laboratory where Dr. Sachs and his colleagues attempt to harvest genetically modified pig organs and transplant them into baboons as a first step into animal-to-human transplants. With an ever increasing number of people needing organ and tissue transplants, and the immature promise of stem cell research, xeno-transplantation could be a saving grace for millions around the world. But Sachs's work, and the work of his counterparts, is being slowed down by politics, animal activism, and above all, financial constraints.

Miller does a wonderful job in not only focusing on the scientific work of Dr. Sachs, but also by touching-up on stories of animal activism and financial hardships experienced by animal research scientists. Patients who are desperately waiting for an organ believe that animals are the last chance they have at life, but activists think animals deserve the full respect bestowed on us humans and should not be used as spare body parts. This is why animal research scientists have become similar to undercover agents, proceeding through a plethora of security checks and biometric checkpoints to reach their labs. The corporate firms backing the research impose further restrictions on open scientific discussions, and many believe such restrictions slow down the progress of xeno-transplantation, if not all of medical research.

The Xeno Chronicles reads much like the latest best-seller novel, with complex characters, heroes applauded by some and criticized by others, and a sophisticated plot of secret research and political mongering. But this story is not fictional; it is in fact the real life drama of scientists on the fringe of medical greatness.

Scilitera.com
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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

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Describes the preservation and reuse of eyes, blood, skin grafts, and hearts through transplant surgery. Also discusses possible future developments in donor transplants. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Excellent book
Excellent book.Very informative for anyone who wants to get into the world of transplant medicine, or anyone who is just fascinated by the amazing work these people do.

Excellent Read
This book provided a fascinating insight into the amazing world of transplants. I take my hat of to Dr. Frist and his colleagues for the amazing work they do day in and day out!!

I think too many previous reviewers focused too much on the cat story. Back when Dr. Frist was going to medical school, dogs and cats from shelters were commonly used for a variety of classes in medical school - I do not think we should judge Dr. Frist's actions on today's standards.

Confessions of a Cat Killer
I'm not sure what is the greater act of stupidity: Nazi-like killing of cats for medical experimentation OR being a public figure and writing about it in your autobiography.

Cat killer enthusiasts will also enjoy the original and artistic film on the subject entitled "Gummo" (...)

Self-Serving Screed from a Deeply Disturbed Man
The relevant text in this book--which, by the way, is becoming harder and harder to get (could the author be buying up all extant copies to contain the damage?)--says of his kidnapped cats that Frist "treated them as pets for a few days" prior to his "cart[ing] them off to the lab to die." The standard practice among researchers and medical students is to avoid becoming emotionally attached to their lab subjects, and for good reason; it makes the objectivity necessary for scientific work more difficult. Yet Frist, by his own admission, "treated them as pets." The implication is that since no one forced Frist to do this that he got some sort of emotional thrill from killing and cutting up these unfortunate cats and kittens that he kidnapped under false pretenses. There is a word for people like that: sociopath. It's common knowledge that people who abuse and kill animals for thrills often become serial killers later in life. Is this the kind of person we want serving as Senate Majority Leader? Be very afraid.

Insightful
This book was the turning point of my life.It was the statement that persuaded me to have a heart transplant.It answered so many of my qestions about the procedure and gave me the insight that the procedure was not really science fiction. Since reading it I have passed the book on to other people facing such a difficult decision. ... Read more

Product Description
Following close on the heels of the breakthrough face transplantation performed in France, this issue examines the state of the art of a variety of replant and transplant procedures.World-renowned experts review topics such as composite tissue allografts, immunobiology and hand transplantation, research leading to facial transplantation, tissue transplantation, replantation outcomes, tissue engineering, spare parts in replantation surgery, cellular therapies for prolongation of composte tissue allograft transplantation, solutions to challenging digital replantations, great toe to thumb transplantation, functional outcome of single digit replants, and digital replantation in ring avulsion injuries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I am honored to know some of the surgeons here
Living near houston and spending a good bit of time at the centers discussed in this text I find that I am able to step back a bit and take a look at what is right in front of my face. If you are preparing for a transplant it is a good idea to absorb this book and learn as much as you can, there is so much to know, and still do. This really touches close to home for me.

A fascinating and tragic story
I deducted one star for the main theme of the book being difficult to find - that being the feud between Drs. DeBakey and Cooley.

Otherwise, it is a very interesting tale of the early days of open-heart and transplant surgery.The procedure itself was almost abandoned after its disaster-ridden debut in the late 1960s, but the high death rate was probably because, like with any new medical procedure, the practitioners really didn't know what they were doing.Unlike most other medical breakthroughs, these doctors were in the world spotlight, as were many of their patients.

My brother and his wife once lived in Houston, and I described some things in the book to them.They said not much has changed in all these years.

Both physicians are still living and practicing, Cooley in his 80s and DeBakey in his 90s although neither do surgery any more. ... Read more