Did you know that at this time in the USA about 75,000 people are in need of a organ transplant. Imagine for a second, how many lives could be saved if we only had more organs to give to patients in need of a new one. The problem is there are not enough people willing to donate them. But within a few years scientists may have discovered a new source for them. Since March of 2000 scientists have been hopeful that genetically altered pig organs could one day take the place of dysfunctional human organs. In 1984 a newborn pig named “Baby Fae” lived an additional 20 days with a heart from a baboon. This piece of evidence just shows that this process can be done with several changes and tests.
The reason why scientists chose pigs is because pigs have organs similar in shape, size, and function to human organs. However this process is not as easy as you may think. Pigs organs contain 2 genes called GGTA1. This gene is responsible for the produ
Despite these advances that scientists have come to, there are still many other issues that need to be tackled. One concern people have is that by transferring organs from animals to humans, there is the risk of transferring pathogenic viruses from one species to another (Hutchinson, 14). This could result in lethal infections or even death.
Another issue that has arisen is that the animal rights people are protesting against this procedure. My personal opinion is a little of both sides. I do think that this would be a major breakthrough in science and it would save many lives. I also think that if scientists could complete this procedure without affecting the rest of the pig’s body that humans eat, why not take the organs and give them to humans in need of them. My other though on this is that if is it was not ok to eat and scientists are just killing the pigs for their organs then I do think it is wrong.
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