Way back in 2017, I wrote a post about how scientists might one day use pigs to grow human organs. These “human-pig chimeras” could provide replacement organs to people with diseases like diabetes.
I recently learned that researchers are also trying to make pig organs suitable for transplant into humans. Their work doesn’t rely on putting human cells in pigs; they don’t need to make chimeras. Instead, these researchers use genetic engineering techniques to make pig organs more acceptable to the human body. Their modifications prevent the immune system from attacking and rejecting the pig organs. Thus, they hope to make pigs the future heroes of organ transplantation.
This research holds a lot of promise for patients in need of organs. Yet, it’s reasonable to worry that we devalue pigs by using them to produce human organs. My take is, if we accept pigs are sources of food, we should accept them as sources of organs. Nonetheless, I believe that we should develop transplant and food systems that don’t rely on living animals. Learning how to grow organs in pigs may help us move in this direction. Hopefully, we’ll eventually know enough about organ development to simply grow organs (and meat for consumption) in the lab.
