From reading the NPR article, it doesn’t sound like the surgical team started the procedure. They aborted before making any incisions, which is what they should have done. The Guardian headline is a touch sensationalist.

What’s horrifying is how they got all the way to the operating room before recognizing that the patient wasn’t brain dead.

HIPAA only applies to Covered Entities. 23andMe does not meet the HHS definition of a Covered Entity.

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/index.html

My completely uninformed guess is:

1. we all forgot how to drive like normal people during/after lockdowns and,
2. cars continue to get bigger and heavier, so accidents are more likely to result in total loss

Presumably not, since the repurposed cells won’t have the same surface antigens that the immune system targets for destruction.