Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were caught on a hot mic Wednesday discussing how organ transplant technology could allow for longer lives and perhaps immortality.
Putin was heard telling Xi just before a military parade in Beijing how “human organs can be constantly transplanted, to the extent that people can get younger, perhaps even immortal,” according to a translation from the Wall Street Journal. Xi can be heard in return musing that humans could “live to be 150 years old” in the future.
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un can also be seen with them, smiling as they walk toward their seats for the parade.
China has been accused of harvesting organs from the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang province. Beijing has also been accused of crimes against humanity and perpetrating a genocide against the minority group.
There is no compelling evidence that organ transplants can reliably extend human life up to 150 years. In fact, transplanted organs are often rejected by the host body, requiring immunosuppressant drugs to keep the body from attacking the organ as if it was a foreign object.
Putin and Xi are both currently 72 years old, and speculation about their own health problems has persisted around both leaders in their advanced years. Putin has long publicly portrayed himself as a strongman in media and in public appearances.
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
