Debating xenotransplantation: Xenotransplantation is ethical

Every day, people on the waiting list for organs die. There are more people in need of transplantations than there are donors, and xenotransplantation helps to fill that gap.

Xenotransplantation is defined as transplantations, implantations or infusions from nonhuman animal sources into human recipients, according to the FDA.   

However, is xenotransplantation an ethical way to fill the gap in transplantations? The technology is relatively still new, it harms animals and the organs can be rejected by the human body or cause viruses according to a 2020 article by Bernard E. Rollin. The animal organs are often quickly rejected by the body for being foreign, and diseases from the animals can infect a person and potentially lead to epidemics if not kept in check, causing valid concerns for both the recipient and public health.

Overall, the harm it would cause to animals in relation to animal products used for other resources such as food and clothing would be miniscule. The only valid arguments against xenotransplantation are how it will affect the recipient and public health. Due to the limited research and minimal practice of xenotransplantation, there is not much confirmed data on its human impact.

According to Medscape, some transplants only last weeks or months before a patient dies or rejects the organ. Over time, professionals have learned better ways to assimilate the animal organs into human bodies through preventing viruses’ transmission and injecting human DNA into animal fetuses used for transplants. Once researchers can lessen the negative impact of transplants on humans, xenotransplantation could be an amazing way to close the gap in donors and recipients. 

Pigs are likely the most ethical animal that could be bred for use in transplants. According to “Xenotransplantation: Where are we Today?”, they have less risk of transmitting disease to humans than animals like primates. Additionally, there has already been work done on genetically modifying them for transplants, and pigs are already very domesticated. There are still many unknowns surrounding transplanting pig organs into humans such as size, aging and temperature, but these issues are being actively researched. 

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, in 2007, donated parts from a deceased person were transplanted into the bodies of four patients. It was unknown at the time that the donor had HIV, and, as a result, the four who received donations were infected with the disease. This is uncommon, but it only goes to show that disease transmission is not only a major concern when dealing with animal transplants, but human transplants as well. No matter what, it is a medical professional’s responsibility to ensure the absence of disease or defect when conducting surgery of any kind. 

In summary, xenotransplantation has the potential to be either very unethical or very ethical; there is not really a middle ground. Once it is fully researched, it will either harm people or save countless lives. For now, however, the focus of all who care about this ethical issue should be the necessity for a means by which human lives can be saved, as the need for organ transplants will not slow. Xenotransplantation may not be perfect, but neither is any medical practice. Indeed, this matter may sound outlandish or scary, but fear of the future must not  be the response with which it is approached. Those who are waiting on transplants cannot go uncared for as its ethics are debated.

Carter is an opinion writer for the Liberty Champion