Why was Worf the only viable donor to save the Romulan when Dr Selar was also on the Enterprise?

[FederationHistorian]

In “The Enemy” we see Worf put in a position to save the injured Romulan as he is the only member of the crew to have the ribosomes needed to save his life. He is initially reluctant, but gives in, only for the Romulan to insult and reject Worf as a donor and he dies later on.

You would think that with Dr. Selar on board and the similarity of Vulcan and Romulan physiology, that she would be able to supply the ribosomes needed no problem. Was she away at a conference or something, making her unavailable, as I don't remember that being mentioned in the episode at all?

 

[Ragitsu]

In “The Enemy” we see Worf put in a position to save the injured Romulan as he is the only member of the crew to have the ribosomes needed to save his life. He is initially reluctant, but gives in, only for the Romulan to insult and reject Worf as a donor and he dies later on.

You would think that with Dr. Selar on board and the similarity of Vulcan and Romulan physiology, that she would be able to supply the ribosomes needed no problem. Was she away at a conference or something, making her unavailable, as I don't remember that being mentioned in the episode at all?

Crusher DID make mention of other Vulcans already onboard The Enterprise. I felt that the eventual reason given (i.e., Worf is a better match than a Vulcan) was very...loose. Very convenient.

BEVERLY
My patient is not responding to treatment.

PICARD
You haven't found a compatible ribosome donor?

BEVERLY
The lab is still processing the tests... early results indicate humans have far too many biorejection factors. I've also ruled out the Vulcans we've tested.

 

[Qonundrum]

In “The Enemy” we see Worf put in a position to save the injured Romulan as he is the only member of the crew to have the ribosomes needed to save his life. He is initially reluctant, but gives in, only for the Romulan to insult and reject Worf as a donor and he dies later on.

You would think that with Dr. Selar on board and the similarity of Vulcan and Romulan physiology, that she would be able to supply the ribosomes needed no problem. Was she away at a conference or something, making her unavailable, as I don't remember that being mentioned in the episode at all?

In short: Plot contrivance for one-sided narrative.

All Vulcans on the ship were tested. Keep in mind that Vulcans and Romulans share the most similar genetic material bar none. Yet a Klingon, vastly different in structure, was by far the most compatible donor... the way the episode frames the dilemma doesn't allow for what some later Trek (DS9, et al) have added regarding medical help in various areas... But Dr Crusher was not talking about medical tinkering - just naturally occurring plotdevices needed via a simple blood transfusion.

Ribosomes translate genetic code into chains of amino acids - they are protein builders for cells...

Fun article: https://sciencetrends.com/the-function-of-ribosomes/

Human ribosomes and that of other eukaryotes are composed of four rRNA strands while bacterial ribosomes are made of three strands of rRNA. These rRNA are coupled with proteins that form the overall structure of a ribosome. In eukaryotes, the ribosomal protein enters the nucleus and is processed together with the rRNA strands to form a large ribosome subunit and a small ribosome subunit. They are shipped out of the pores of the nucleus and meet to form the completed ribosome.

(snip)

Our cells and other animal cells contain many different components that function together to promote the wellbeing of the cell and the body. The mitochondria, for instance, provides our cells with the necessary amount of energy compounds needed to perform their various functions. The nucleus houses the DNA that cells use when they need to use genes to create proteins and regulate various systems in the body, like growth.

etc

Biology isn't my thing, but from what little I've read, I'd almost be confident to say that getting frog ribosomes would be useless for helping a sick human. So, which is more plausible - any number of compatible Vulcans? Or no compatible Vulcans but the sheer luck in becoming allies with a completely different species, one with more complex DNA and an exoskeltal cranial plate and numerous redundant organs for the other plot contrivance-heavy episode, now makes such a near-impossible feat easy-as-pie just so long as Worf agrees?


Or, if nothing else, I need some fresh ribosomes so will I go down to the blood bank or do I go down the rabbit hole and see if Bugs has any to spare - and lo and behold, his is far more compatible cuz of all them carrots he ate because Worf's prune juice made him compatible for the Romulan too... Well, maybe, since xenotransfusion is a genuine concept dating back to the 17th century and all... how's that for a plot twist? A plot twist that could have been said in the episode to make the contrivance for Worf's big butch moralized dilemma a lot more plausible in the story's own narrative? (and even then, the chances of no Vulcan being compatible seems far smaller... it's all good. Especially for the pig donors with type-O blood, where compatibility is far more likely to be viable... )

 

[Mojochi]

He is initially reluctant, but gives in, only for the Romulan to insult and reject Worf as a donor and he dies later on.

I'm not so sure Worf was "giving in" anyhow. All I saw was him begrudgingly willing to look the guy in the face & maybe hear him out. It didn't help that the guy was a rejecting, bigoted A-hole, but I'm not so sure Worf was ever going to help that guy whether he wanted him to or not. Worf's decision didn't seem to take into account what the Romulan wanted, or he'd have mentioned that the Romulan refused his help during his meeting with Picard (Who also didn't seem to care much about whether the Romulan wanted their life saving aid or not)

He was being asked to do it because it was what was best for ship & crew, & in Crusher's case, what was best for her patient's life. Frankly, I doubt that Romulan even wanted Beverly to be trying to save his life, because it might likely mean he'd be answering questions he didn't want to answer. He'd probably prefer to kill her if he could, & let himself die in the process

 

[Timo]

You would think that with Dr. Selar on board and the similarity of Vulcan and Romulan physiology, that she would be able to supply the ribosomes needed no problem. Was she away at a conference or something, making her unavailable, as I don't remember that being mentioned in the episode at all?

It seems it's the other way around: all species are cross-compatible to begin with when it comes to blood transfusions or organ donating, but compatibility problems emerge between individuals regardless of species. Essentially, everybody in Star Trek is the same species.

Crusher here says she has tested all sorts of species, not just Vulcans (but she did say she also tested the Vulcans, of whom there are many aboard the E-D at that time). Obviously all of them had the wrong type of ribosome, but Worf had the right type.

Today, we can separate blood into components of which some have no compatibility problems at all - but we can't transfer ribosomes. They are a rather complex part of our cells, and if something goes wrong with them, finding a replacement does sound like a good idea and an exercise in urgency. They are also an archaic part, and if we want to believe that ancient aliens meddled with our biology, and that of all other humanoids around (as Trek insists they did), ribosomes would be one of those things. Indeed, it's sometimes argued that ribosomes are aliens to our cells for real.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Herbert]

Why was Worf the only viable donor to save the Romulan when Dr Selar was also on the Enterprise?

Because otherwise you wouldn't have an episode.

 

[Mojochi]

Essentially, everybody in Star Trek is the same species.

These guys again

 

[Vger23]

Dr. Sealer was in the same place Chekov was when Khan first met him.

 

[Finn]

plot

 

[Nerys Myk]

Science facts.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Because it's better drama since Worf has a beef with the Romulans.

 

[somebuddyX]

I just checked her roster and turns out on that day she was on holiday on Andor or something.

 

[Herbert]

Because it's better drama since Worf has a beef with the Romulans.

Exactly. That's what writers do. They attempt to craft compelling, dramatic stories because that makes something you actually want to watch. There is no other explanation needed. We certainly don't need to engage in more fruitless attempts to fit this into some cockamamie "in-universe" explanation that someone pulled from their hind quarters.

 

[Mojochi]

... engage in more fruitless attempts to fit this into some cockamamie "in-universe" explanation that someone pulled from their hind quarters.

My friend, I can not tell you enough how much you might've come to the wrong place lol

I'm pretty sure if someone asked me to give a textbook description of what this site is, it would be almost word for word what you just wrote

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

Answer to the original question: plot.

*ducks*

Perhaps reading previous posts is a good idea.

 

[Guy Gardener]

What we found out in Discovery is that the Klingons assimilate planets sexually.

They beam down, and then 3 months later a planet of conquered Aliens produce half a billion klingon babies, and then have to deal with it, that moving forward their species is nothing but junk dna rattling around on the Klingon Genome.

 

[Herbert]

My friend, I can not tell you enough how much you might've come to the wrong place lol

I'm pretty sure if someone asked me to give a textbook description of what this site is, it would be almost word for word what you just wrote

I know which is sad because I've loved Star Trek since watching it as a kid in the 70s. It's also sad because this site can be so much more than this nonsense. We wonder why Trekkers get such a bad name sometimes.

 

[Timo]

...How, though? "I still remember" doesn't carry far (except when it becomes humorously obvious one no longer quite remembers). And comparing new Trek to old Trek is basically what we do here all the time - but it means comparing fiction to fiction, i.e. making shit up based on made-up shit. Beyond this, it's just ranking 'em episodes again and again and again.

(Or reiterating them one line at a time. )

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Kor]

The episode gave us exactly the amount of information we needed. A bunch of exposition would have just bogged down the narrative. For the purposes of the story, the conundrum is established pretty early on when Crusher says, "We thought it would be like working on Vulcans, but there are subtle differences. Too many of them."

The fact that Romulans and Vulcans had some kind of biological difference was already established in TOS "The Enterprise Incident," when Chekov was trying to detect Spock on a ship full of Romulans, and Chekov remarked, "Romulans and Vulcans appear to read almost exactly alike. There is just a slight difference which..." But he didn't expand upon that because at that moment he detected Spock. And no additional explanation was really necessary.

Kor

 

[Tim Thomason]

I like to think that some of the ancient Romulans and ancient Klingons interbred, and this may be a source of the ridge mutation in Northerners and the ribosome sharing in their DNA.

What we found out in Discovery is that the Klingons assimilate planets sexually.

They beam down, and then 3 months later a planet of conquered Aliens produce half a billion klingon babies, and then have to deal with it, that moving forward their species is nothing but junk dna rattling around on the Klingon Genome.

This was also the game plan for both the Xenomorphs and the Vikings. Pretty solid move.