01-13-2022, 05:22 PM
A man dying of heart disease has received a genetically modified pigs heart. He is still alive three days later and breathing on his own, but he is far from recovered.
It is unclear if he will recover. Nothing is certain about his future other than the fact that he was dying before the procedure.
There are some parameters here. The man was terminally ill and would have died soon. It was not an ordinary pigs heart. The pig had to be genetically modified for transplantation to a human to be even possible.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59944889
This is a complex issue ethically and medically. How far should we go to prolong life?
What are the ethical considerations of using animal parts for human transplantation? Is this a road we want to go down?
This article looks at some of the ethical issues.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59951264
It is not clear whether the transplant is medically going to work for this patient. However he has lasted three days. That guarantees that it will be done again.
It is a field of research not going away. So we do need to look at it and ask if we really want to go in this direction.
Are there medical consequences that we are unaware of? If you were dying and this was the only way to survive, would you do it?
Do we have the right to use animals in this way? Does it set a bad precedent to grow future organ donors for harvesting? If you want to see a movie that deals with how far things could go, I recommend The Island.
Do I like the idea of farms full of genetically modified pigs just waiting to have their organs harvested? Clearly some sort of facility exists because they had a heart already modified and full grown.
Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
It is unclear if he will recover. Nothing is certain about his future other than the fact that he was dying before the procedure.
There are some parameters here. The man was terminally ill and would have died soon. It was not an ordinary pigs heart. The pig had to be genetically modified for transplantation to a human to be even possible.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59944889
This is a complex issue ethically and medically. How far should we go to prolong life?
What are the ethical considerations of using animal parts for human transplantation? Is this a road we want to go down?
This article looks at some of the ethical issues.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59951264
It is not clear whether the transplant is medically going to work for this patient. However he has lasted three days. That guarantees that it will be done again.
It is a field of research not going away. So we do need to look at it and ask if we really want to go in this direction.
Are there medical consequences that we are unaware of? If you were dying and this was the only way to survive, would you do it?
Do we have the right to use animals in this way? Does it set a bad precedent to grow future organ donors for harvesting? If you want to see a movie that deals with how far things could go, I recommend The Island.
Do I like the idea of farms full of genetically modified pigs just waiting to have their organs harvested? Clearly some sort of facility exists because they had a heart already modified and full grown.
Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
Catherine