Fourth Transplant Patient Dies, Proving Again That Pig Organs Are for Pigs, Not Humans

 

    In an era of improving technology, scientists are trying to find a way to use animal organs as human transplants. But is this actually working? What are the consequences to the animal, and is it safe for humans to use it? In an article published in May 2024 and updated in July 2024, PETA reported on cases of animal organ transplants and data revolving around the outcomes. 

    While the idea of using animal organs as human transplants sounds promising, the results have not been very effective. Updated in July 2024, four patients receiving an organ transplant from genetically altered pigs have died, continuing the 100% failure rate of xenotransplantation. The author emphasized: 

"Humans need organs. But in case this has escaped anyone’s attention, pigs and other animals also need theirs. They don’t belong to us." (PETA, 2024). 

    And as my previous blog discussed, Japan's new legislation on creating human chimera to create more opportunities for xenotransplantation has allowed scientists there to have more chances to conduct deeper research on the topic. The approach from Japanese scientists is more promising in terms of success in transplanting, as it was cultured with stem cells, therefore creating a higher chance that the human body would accept it. But this also raises a major question about bioethics: whether or not this is an ideal way to do transplanting, what regulations can be passed to control these controversial studies, and to what point is the experiment too extreme? 

WORKS CITED

PETA (2024). Fourth Transplant Patient Dies, Proving Again That Pig Organs Are for Pigs, Not Humans. https://www.peta.org/blog/pig-kidney-transplant-patient-dies/

Pontbriand, H. D. (2019). Pig-human chimeras: a clinical trial announced in Japan. Bioethics News. https://bioethics-news.com/2019/05/13/pig-human-chimeras-a-clinical-trial-announced-in-japan/