Xenotransplantation failure dissipated. An American infant girl known as "Baby Fae" with hypoplastic left heart syndrome was the first infant recipient of a xenotransplantation, when she received a baboon heart in 1983. The procedure was performed by Leonard L. Bailey at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. Fae died 21 days later due to a humoral-based graft rejection thought to be caused mainly by an ABO blood type mismatch, considered unavoidable due to the rarity of type O baboons. The graft was meant to be temporary, but unfortunately a suitable allograft replacement could not be found in time.
Baboon Woman Saks has rescued, fostered and rehabilitated individual orphaned and injured vervet monkeys and chacma baboons. Most of the primates in her care have been orphaned after their mothers were shot by humans. When Karin receives an ill baby baboon to foster, his potential future to be returned into the wild is followed, resulting in him interacting with two wild troops. One of these troops naturally starts to accept him when he begins to interact with individuals who visit the land where Karin, her partner and a number of rescued non-human primates reside. The documentary focuses on Karin's work with baboons;