Crowds have gathered today to hear the verdict
of the Swedish police investigation
into celebrity surgeon Paolo Macchiarini,
who has been accused of medical misconduct.
Officials are hoping for an indictment
to be issued today in the case
that has taken the global medical community by storm.
Do you trust me?
- Oh! - Oh, my goodness!
Hello, Keziah.
The recellularization is complete, Doctor.
Wonderful.
Now I need you to count back from 100.
Knife.
♪ She was the one, she was the one ♪
♪ She was the one. she was the one ♪
♪ She was the one, she was the one ♪
I'm not here to talk about politics.
- Benita? - Yeah?
Have you seen our girl?
Shoot! Mm.
- Happy birthday! - Happy birthday!
Oh. You're ringing.
Oh.
Hello?
Always making such a racket, B.
Says the guy dragging me to the hospital at 1:00 a.m.
What happened?
Ask him.
Hi.
- Is he okay? - Yes.
Uh, is this your wife? both: Ex.
Okay, well, John was admitted
after he was found unconscious in his apartment.
I've left word for your oncologist,
but this is likely caused by the brain tumor.
So does that mean the treatment is not working?
It doesn't mean anything for sure.
But your doctor has discussed your prognosis?
Yeah, we know. My chances are slim.
6%. 6%.
That's the number they love to throw around all the time,
but someone's got to be the 6%, right?
Right.
Well, I'll go check your bloodwork.
- Just, uh, sit tight. - Yeah, I'll be right here.
You look good, B.
It was Kimmy's birthday tonight.
Well, I saved you from a wicked hangover.
- Yeah. - You're welcome.
So what do we tell Lizzi?
We wait.
You just started this round of treatment.
We don't have any of the answers yet,
- so I think we wait. - Okay.
Okay. Yeah.
But, Benita...
I'm sick.
Someone's got to be the 6%, John.
- Morning, Benita. - Morning, Larry.
- This is for me, right? - Yep.
Thank you.
- Morning, Benita. - Good morning.
- Oh, I have pitches for you. - Great.
- Lunch? - Sure.
- Meet you in the commissary? - Yuck. See you then.
- Oh, you have my fugitive story? - Uh...
Tomorrow. I mean it.
- Ah, good morning to you. - I did shots.
Yeah, you did.
- Sorry I had to take off. - Oh, God, please.
You don't need--
I'm sorry.
- How is he? - The same.
We can skip the condolences.
Sure, whatever you need.
Aw, that's pretty.
Those are John's.
He asked me to look after them while he's, you know...
Those are his favorite.
Work is good. Work is good. Work is good.
Copy that. Work is good.
I've been trying to get an angle
on this medical piece for a TV special I'm producing.
Generational medicine?
- Regenerative medicine. - Sure.
I read this piece in "The Times"
about this little girl who needs a new windpipe,
and her family's working with this doctor in Europe
who's developing artificial organs.
Medical miracles?
Ooh, I hate that word-- "miracle."
- I don't hate this guy. - That's the doctor.
He's actually got a pretty impressive CV.
He's worked all around the world,
published in "The Lancet,"
research grants out of Karolinska.
It's where they give out the Nobel Prize.
- Hmm. - And he's Italian.
Mm. Roma or Olive Garden?
I don't know.
So...
who are we today?
Oh. Bina.
- That's cute. - So this little girl--
she lives in this tiny town, Yongsan-gu.
- Korea? - Yeah.
But she's coming to the States for her surgery--that's her.
That's Hannah Warren.
This is a really good story, B.
- It is, right? - Mm-hmm.
I like it. It's...
it's really hopeful.
Yeah, this is worth missing lunch for.
Fuck off. This guy's brilliant.
- Did you read the material? - I'm getting there.
It's really interesting.
- You having trouble there? - A little bit.
- I think it's this one here. - Ah, this one, yeah.
- Okay. - There you go.
- All good? - Yeah, all good, yeah.
- It works. - Awesome. Thank you.
Okay, great.
uh, colleagues, good afternoon.
It's great to see
such a wide spectrum of fields represented here today.
I only wish some of my own lectures
could get crowds like this.
Now, I'm sure you're all eager to hear
from Karolinska's newest addition.
He is a professor, researcher, and thoracic surgeon--
Dr. Paolo Macchiarini.
Thank you, Provost Hedley.
I'm simply happy that you will have me here
working in this incredible institution.
"God breathed into Adam the breath of life,
and he became man"--
Genesis 2:7.
Breath is the essence of life,
the one thing that comes naturally
to all of us from birth-- to breathe.
When a patient has a damaged trachea,
our options, unfortunately, have been very limited.
Tracheostomies allow patients to live, yes,
but with what quality of life?
The focus of my research is tracheal transplants
with the help of stem cells--
"the God cells" as they have been called recently.
We harvest the donor trachea from a cadaver
and strip it of the donor cells.
Then we reseed the organ with the patient's stem cells,
preparing it for implantation.
I have successfully applied this technique
to multiple patients around the world--
most recently to a 19-year-old patient
named Keziah Shorten in London.
She was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma
and only had months to live.
Now, two months after the operation,
she's healthy and happy with her donor trachea.
This is an exciting step,
but it is still a very flawed process.
Why? Because of the donors.
We always have to wait for the perfect-size trachea.
So I thought, what if we skip that step?
And so we did.
We were able to eliminate the donors altogether
by developing biosynthetic tracheas--
custom-designed to fit the individual patient.
Using the same process, we seed the trachea
with the patient's stem cells,
transforming it into a living organ.
We have conducted swine trials with just incredible results.
Look at those happy pigs.
And that brings us here today,
where I'm happy to announce
the final phase of our work--
the very first human biosynthetic transplant
to take place right here at Karolinska.
Once we conquer the trachea,
we'll be able to expand our work to heart valves,
blood vessels, even entire organs.
The potential for this technology is endless.
Imagine for a moment buying a 3D-printed organ
off the shelf,
like groceries from a supermarket.
Imagine a world where no human being will ever die
while waiting for an organ donor.
Imagine this...
the future of medicine...
the future that we will build together.
Thank you.
Ah, Dr. Lasbrey, let me introduce you.
- Dr. Macchiarini. - Oh, please call me Paolo.
- Paolo, wonderful to meet you. - Thank you.
I've been following your research closely,
since your first bronchus transplants in Barcelona.
Oh, thank you. That's very flattering.
Uh, Dr. Lasbrey's a cardiothoracic surgeon.
Uh, she's been working
on some stem-cell-regeneration research of her own.
Oh.
My focus is vascular repair-- blood vessel regeneration.
I've had some progress, but I never thought
to recellularize a bioartificial graft.
Do you build the scaffolds to replicate the porousness
- of real tracheal cartilage? - Exactly.
So you're basically tricking the body
into thinking the implant's already a part of you.
Well, I haven't really thought
about it that way, but, yes, that's exactly it, yeah.
- It's brilliant. - Oh.
The broad applications for technology like this--
How? H-h-how do you trick them?
More specifically,
h-how does a synthetic cell create blood vessels,
uh, basal layers, and fend off bacteria?
And this is Dr. Gamelli,
also one of our cardiothoracic surgeons.
He'll be in charge of post-operative care
for any patients you bring to Karolinska.
- What's up? - Very nice to meet you.
Dr. Gamelli, I could walk you through the research again,
if you like.
That's very thoughtful of you.
Yes, well, we are hopeful that Dr. Macchiarini's research
will establish Karolinska
as the world leader in regenerative medicine.
Perhaps he'll even bring the Nobel home.
Oh, well, we're just at the beginning of our work.
But the implications for future transplants
are historic.
Dr. Lasbrey, would you-- would you be interested
in assisting on the first transplant patient?
"Interested" isn't exactly how I'd put it.
Then it's done.
Oh, thank you, really. I-I'm honored.
Welcome to the team.
I do wonder, as it relates to my research,
how are the grafts transformed into living cells?
How do they come alive?
It's, uh...
it's like magic.
Benita.
You were supposed to be here at 3:00, Dr. Macchiarini.
I'm so sorry. I was riding, and I went over a bridge
that was supposed to take me to Brooklyn,
when, in fact, I was already in Brooklyn.
So that bridge took me to Staten Island,
which was very interesting but very far away.
So I'm deeply, deeply sorry to keep you waiting.
I guess picturing you on that bike
crossing the Verrazzano Bridge might be punishment enough.
Verrazzano Bridge is the name?
- Can I get you something, sir? - Um, an espresso with sugar.
Regular sugar or, um...
Uh, sorry.
Ah, oui.
Okay.
I mean, sugar is sugar, as long as it's sweet, okay?
Merci beaucoup.
How many languages do you speak, Dr. Macchiarini?
Um, one I speak okay, six very poorly.
- Which one is okay? - No one will tell me.
Do you bring that everywhere you go?
That is rented-- guilty pleasure.
Why guilty?
Do you ride?
Uh, I did, a long time ago.
Well, maybe you will ride again.
As I said on the phone,
I'm producing a special on regenerative medicine,
and I'm very interested
in your upcoming operation on Hannah Warren.
- Is this okay? - Yeah.
Tell me about it.
She was born with a congenital anomaly
called tracheal agenesis.
- Very rare. - Mm.
Her windpipe never fully developed,
so she's never been able to breathe on her own.
She's never been able to even leave the hospital.
It's a tragedy.
She's stuck in a bed, not being able to--
to go outside, to play,
to--to run, to eat lollipops...
to be a kid.
Do you have children?
I have a 9-year-old daughter.
Can you imagine
if your daughter never tasted a lollipop?
- No. No, I can't. - Yeah, that's--that's Hannah.
Do you mind if we--
Should we take a walk outside?
- Sure. - Yeah.
- I think it's better, yeah. - Okay.
So this is the first artificial trachea transplant in the U.S.,
and you chose Chicago because of Hannah's pediatrician?
Yes. He works at a Catholic hospital,
and they're funding the operation.
The Catholic Church doesn't mind supporting
stem cell research?
Well, actually there is, uh-- there is a high commission
at the Vatican involved in stem cell research.
- Really? - Yeah.
It's not only that.
They really want to help Hannah.
They--they believe she's been sent to us by God.
Sent to you for a miracle?
Is that what you want to be known for--performing miracles?
Well...
That sounds a little-- a little too--
What's the word you use here? Um, h-hokey?
- Hokey, yeah. - Hokey, yeah, sounds--
Just a little hokey, Dr. Macchiarini.
- Too much. - So, even though
you've performed this operation before,
Hannah will be the youngest patient of yours
to ever receive a biosynthetic transplant.
That's correct.
Does that give you pause?
I've been thinking lately that my entire career,
maybe even my entire life
has led me here...
to this little girl,
who definitely needs this more than anyone.
It's still an extremely experimental procedure.
Yeah, it is. It's new. It's complicated.
It's a little controversial.
We have to fight really hard to get permission
to operate here in the U.S.
But without it, Hannah will certainly die.
So, if there's one chance to save one person,
I think it's worth the risk.
So I'm doing a story,
and I want Hannah's journey to be the focus of the piece.
Actually, I was hoping that you might be able to put me
in touch with the Warrens directly.
- Okay, I'll see what I can do. - Great.
All right, Doctor, it's officially after work hours.
I have to go pick up my daughter.
- What's her name? - Her name is Lizzi.
- Lizzi. - Mm.
Well, I hope I get to hear
more about her next time we meet.
I hope you're on time next time we meet.
Okay.
Huh.
Okay, driving car, honking, beep, beep.
Cars, uh, traffic? Traffic! Traffic.
- Okay, traffic. - Okay, okay.
Wait, where'd we go?
Butter bread? Toast?
Peanut butter?
Traffic-- traffic peanut butter!
Okay, time's up.
Traffic jam! all: Oh!
Traffic jam!
I love traffic peanut butter, though.
But she was like, yes.
All right, it's bedtime for one of us.
Mom.
No, I gave you an extra half hour, kiddo.
Come here.
Mom, I can't breathe.
I know, but I'm gonna be at the airport
when you wake up in the morning,
and Laura's gonna take you to school.
Why can't Daddy just take me?
'Cause he's still not feeling well.
But we're gonna go visit him as soon as I get back.
I promise you, okay?
All right, brush, jammies, wash, bed, please.
I'll be right in.
Night.
- I'm a monster. - Stop it.
How long are you gonna be in Chicago?
Too long.
You would think that leaving would get easier,
but it does not.
Well, maybe you can distract yourself by playing doctor.
Oh, stop it.
- Is he single? - Divorced.
Ah, see? Look at you checking his stats.
Don't be ridiculous. He's a source.
Not even a sexy, charming doctor source
is worth getting fired over.
Uh, if I can handle myself around sexy, charming Obama,
I can handle myself around sexy, charming doctor.
I know, I know. I'm just kidding.
both: You don't fuck your sources.
- Thank you. - Well, he's not my source.
So, if you need an Italian translator,
just put in a good word for me.
- Oh. - If it comes up naturally.
- I'm just saying.
Yeah.
Hey, that doesn't sound like brushing to me.
Okay, okay.
How's John?
You know.
Getting worse?
I don't know what I'm gonna do, Kim.
You're a great mother, B. Just...
follow your instincts.
I don't think I have instincts
when it comes to something like this.
Svensson--scientist.
Macchiarini--genius.
Well, that is an interesting way to say hello.
Hi, I'm Paolo.
Not so much a genius.
Anders Svensson, not so much scientist.
He's a little shit.
Oh, I'm delighted to meet you, Dr. Macchiarini.
Thank you.
The whole building is--zzz-- buzzing about your arrival.
I'm sorry to have missed your lecture.
I've been busy with my friends here, I'm afraid--
- a heart study. - Yeah, yeah, not at all.
I'm actually very glad to meet you.
I read your research on progenitor cell functions
in skin regeneration--
- very interesting. - Thank you.
- So these are your friends. - Yes.
Eric, Gunnar.
- So you give them names. - Ah, busted!
Well, I...
I know maybe I shouldn't,
but sitting in these labs all day,
it all quickly become numbers, gene strains in your head.
It's easy to forget we deal with real life and death.
So I name the rats.
So here's Mikael 7. He's a bit of a rascal.
Lost his appetite.
So, Doctor, um, I'm very sorry
to come to you right away with a favor, but here I am.
No, uh, please.
I was wondering if you would be interested
in collaborating on rat trials to test our tracheas.
Wow. I--
Ooh, I'd be honored. I--
But if I've heard correctly,
you've already completed swine trials.
Yeah, and they went very well,
but, you know, the more trials, the better.
I couldn't agree more.
Ah, methodology is a lost art.
So you will be interested in conducting the trials?
Ooh-cha-cha!
Absolutely. I'd be honored.
Yeah, fantastic. Welcome to the team.
Ah.
Hey.
Hi.
- My key card's not working. - Mine neither.
Well, the woman said she'd be right back.
- I don't know-- - I thought I'd try to get a little work done
in the meantime.
- Gambling? - What?
- Are you a gambler? - Oh, no. No.
These are--these are conversation cards.
What is that?
They're kind of like conversation starters.
- May I? - Yeah, yeah.
I...I found them when I was young.
They were my grandmother's, I think.
My family's a little...
But, uh, they're kind of my secret weapon for interviews.
Mm, they are? both: Mm-hmm.
Yeah, people get nervous when they have to answer questions.
Ah, of course.
And this kind of makes it like a little game.
I just say, pick a card.
I don't know. I think it works.
Ah, I'm sure they do.
Your subjects are so relaxed,
it's like they're not even on camera.
- Thank you. - Yeah.
You are very good on camera, you know.
No, no, not at first.
I could use your cards.
Actually, I-I did.
I did use one of them on you already.
- You did? - Mm-hmm.
Mm, yeah.
"If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be"?
And you never answered the question.
- And I'm never going to. - Okay.
Well, then go ahead and pick another card.
Go for it.
"Tell me a story about your childhood fear."
Okay.
Well, life was difficult when I was a boy.
My mom is Italian,
but I never really felt Italian myself.
It was just the two of us.
We moved very often.
Spain, of course, but before that, it was Switzerland.
And that was lonely.
That feeling, that was my fear--
being an immigrant, underestimated, isolated.
I held on to that feeling for a very long time,
and--and I never wanted to feel that way ever again.
Miss, I'm so sorry for the delay.
- Oh, thank you. - You're welcome.
Uh, miss, sorry, could you help me, too, please?
- Oh, yes, of course. - Thank you.
I thought you were gonna say spiders or something.
Mm.
Yeah, here's the pink one.
Or should we do that?
She was, um--she was blue when she came out.
And, uh, we, uh--we just-- we begged her.
We said, cry, baby girl, cry.
And, um, they were able to find a, uh--a tiny hole
leading to her lungs there,
but they said she would never leave the hospital, you know,
that she wouldn't survive.
- So I, um-- - I did a, uh, uh--
- I did-- - I did a Google search on--on trachea surgeries,
and I just started seeing more and more
about Dr. Macchiarini's groundbreaking transplants--
you know, the Miracle Man.
So she just needs one thing, right?
Yeah.
And that's a windpipe right there.
And then everything's going to be fine, okay?
We will monitor her for a few more days
while we prepare the trachea.
We have discussed the details...
at length, the risks.
It is a very difficult surgery.
We have tried everything.
You were the only one willing.
You were the only one who gave us hope.
You are the one who will give her a chance to live.
Yeah.
I will try my best.
- Believe me. - Okay.
- Hmm. - Yeah, thanks.
Hmm?
Hello, Hannah.
Right? Hmm, Hannah?
Hmm?
I have sort of a tradition when I travel.
I like to eat paella.
It's kind of like a good-luck thing.
It reminds me of home.
Anyway, there's a restaurant, a good one, close by.
Maybe you want to join me?
Yeah.
- Yeah? - That--that sounds great.
- Hey, guys? - Hmm?
You want to join the doc for dinner tonight?
- Sure, sounds good. - Let's do it.
Okay, yeah, just text me the address.
- Okay. - Yeah.
All right, let's go.
You didn't eat tonight.
You were watching me eat?
No, I was watching you not eat.
Is there anything I can do
about what is making you so sad?
How do you know I'm so sad?
Anyone who's really looking could see.
It's my ex-husband, John.
It started with the headaches
and then the fainting and forgetting, and...
and then they started throwing around the word "terminal."
- Glioblastoma? - Yeah.
Is it operable?
No, the--the tumor is too deeply embedded in the--
No, it's not.
I'm sorry.
And, you know, with our daughter...
- Lizzi. - Lizzi, yeah.
You know, even though we're not together,
it's always been the three of us.
Mm, I understand.
I have two children.
They're grown now, but when their mother and I divorced,
it was difficult.
But, you know, children are much stronger than we think.
Look at Hannah.
I just keep second-guessing myself--
what to tell her, if I should tell her.
And then I get pissed
because I don't want to have to tell her anything, you know?
And then I think, maybe I shouldn't,
because I've been doing all of this research.
And, you know, 6%--
that's what they keep telling us, 6%.
Someone's got to be the 6%, right?
Benita...
I have seen far too much death...
sudden, expected, certain.
You know your daughter, so you know what's best.
But to be able to say goodbye...
that is a gift.
- Hi. - Hey, welcome back.
She's in her room.
Mom, you're home early!
Yeah. Just for the day. I have to go back tomorrow.
Oh, my God, so I have to tell you this,
'cause I was going to tell you this last night
whenever we talked.
But I wanted to see what happened today
so I can tell you the whole story.
I can't wait to hear all about it.
But first, I wanted to talk to you about your dad.
Okay.
It's that first door up here.
Knock, knock.
Hi, sweetheart.
Vasilyev to Orlov, to Orlov again.
- You losing? - Hey, there you are.
No, no, no, we're ahead.
Those Russian bastards, they can't stop Zlatan.
- Skol. - Cheers.
- Happy Hump Day happy hour! - You're embarrassing.
Mm.
Marja?
You want me to ask her out for you?
- No, don't-- - Hey, hey, hey.
It would be nice
for Wilma and I to have couples for dinner.
Well, I'm washing my hair that night, so...
Oh.
I heard you joined Macchiarini's research team.
Yes, new rat trials.
- Uh, he, uh--uh... - What?
Well, I thought the point of our...
Hump Day happy hour...
Is that you don't have to talk about work.
I'm a complicated man, Anders.
Sorry. Apologize for that, my language.
Macchiarini.
Yeah, his work is exciting, no?
Meh.
"Meh"?
Your lack of interest is decidedly uninteresting.
You think everyone is "meh."
The science doesn't seem sound.
Well, you know, it's not exactly
your kind of science-- no offense.
I said, no offense.
I will admit I don't get it.
I don't understand how a-a plastic trachea
can produce its own blood supply.
- Well, stem cells. - That's just it.
Stem cell research, regenerative medicine--
it's--it's like an arms race.
Everybody's scrambling for the most patents,
the most grants, who can make the most money.
That's not how medicine works. It's not how it should work.
If I wanted that world, I could have stayed in New Jersey.
That's a penalty every day in the week.
Oh, sorry, you were-- you--you were talking to me?
Mm.
Hey, I agree with you on the science.
But this is the way it works.
Competition fuels progress.
Now a lovely play, through across...
I-I... Hey, oh, oh, hey!
All right.
I'm cool.
- I'm going-- - I'm going to make it warm because it's cold.
See, it's cold.
Okay, Hannah, breathe.
Breathe in with me.
You want me to check her, too?
Yes?
Mm.
You want me to take that out?
Hmm? Yeah?
Hmm?
We will tomorrow, yeah?
Hi.
Uh, could I get a glass of Malbec
to take up to my room, please?
- Thanks. - Sure.
- Hi. - Hi.
Is that Hannah's file?
Yeah.
Just going through the details again.
You seem to have a lot of rituals.
I didn't realize surgeons were so superstitious.
It's more like a prayer.
It doesn't matter how many times
I perform these operations, I always get nervous.
You think you're prepared,
but there can always be something that you miss
that can cost a life.
I...
cannot imagine the stress.
Someone's life in your hands...
But I have watched you for a while now,
and the people around you, your patients--
you really give them hope.
They trust you.
Maybe you should trust you.
Good night, Doc.
Knife.
Hey.
She's okay?
The surgery went well.
Oh.
There were no complications,
but she'll be asleep for a while longer.
What do we do now?
Now we wait.
Okay, Hannah, you're going to give us a deep breath.
Another one.
So how are you feeling, then, huh?
Good!
She's feeling good.
We have a little present for you.
Look, look.
Ah, what's that?
Oh, wow.
Go ahead, honey. Yeah.
Good.
- It tastes good, yeah? - Oh.
She loves it.
It tastes good.
- Hey. - Hi.
Hi.
- Got some ice, huh? - Uh-huh, yeah.
Today was...
Unlike anything I've ever seen.
I...
So you're happy with the ending of your story?
It's hopeful, which is what I was hoping for, yeah.
What you did...
It was a miracle.
I wanted to say thank you...
For what you said to me the night before the operation.
Those words...
they were more important than you could possibly know.
Paolo, I shouldn't.