GRADE - 75
There is a serious shortage in human organs for transplantation. Should the
UK undertake xenotransplantation using genetically modified animal organs,
such as a pig’s heart, to fill this gap? Justify your position.
Intro
Thousands of people in the United Kingdom are currently waiting for an organ
transplant to help repair critical functions of their organs such as the liver,
lungs, kidneys, and heart, among others. The rising demand for organs, along
with a scarcity of suitable organs for transplantation, has led to a serious
organ shortage crisis.1 The supply of organs is grossly inadequate to the
demand. Xenotransplantation (XT) is considered a viable alternative since, in
theory, the supply of organs may be augmented through increased
modified breeding. This essay will propose that, even if scientific issues are
resolved, the implementation of clinical trials in XT will rely substantially on a
consensus informed by ethical principles. This essay will be limited in scope,
outlining only some of the ethical dilemmas concerning the transplant of
animal organs into humans. This essay will first discuss how XT has the
potential to redefine a person's subjectivity along with their personhood.
Second, it will show how XT might be depicted as 'Playing God,' which may
be deemed unnatural. Third, it will investigate the risk of xenozoonosis
including the potential impact it will have on our society on a global scale. This
essay does not mean to provide a definitive conclusion to the ethical
dilemmas presented, but rather to stress the importance of including ethical
considerations in discussions about the advancement of clinical trials for XT.
Background to xenotransplantation
One of several reasons why XT was considered in the first place was scarcity
of organs. This is attributable to the fact that a significant proportion of viable
organs we acquire originate from traffic accidents, although because
of advancements in accident prevention fatal crashes have reduced
1
George Abouna, ‘Organ shortage crisis: problems and possible solutions.’ (2008) 40(1) In
Transplantation proceedings, 34.
, GRADE - 75
significantly, notably in the West where there is a huge demand for organs. 2
To investigate the ethical concerns in XT, it is essential to first establish XT.
Xenotransplantation is the procedure of transplanting organs from
one species into another, in this case, animal organs into humans. 3 In 1902, a
woman suffering from end-stage renal failure underwent the first known XT
involving a human host and a pig kidney. 4 However, to this day no successful
animal-to-human organ transplants have transpired. Pigs are considered one
of the most probable resource animals since their gestation period lasts three
months, three weeks, and three days, thus replenishing organ supply more
efficiently.5 This new usage of animals has not only produced many research
challenges but also several ethical concerns, which we will be addressed in
turn.6
Moral Personhood
One of the more fundamental concerns about xenotransplantation is the
merging of the boundaries between both the pig and human species, just as
well as the modification of an individual's subjective nature. It may be claimed
that a successful XT will bring into question our moral legitimacy as well as
our personhood because we'll be understood as potentially acquiring the
donor's qualities.7 Even in allotransplantation, for example, individuals may
believe that the recipient may receive a mental, virtuous, or even physical
characteristic from the donor.8 A person who may experience their body as
well as their mind as one may assume that physical modification will result in
a significant shift in subjectivity, yet it must be highlighted that it is relative to
each individual.9 On the topic of recipient subjectivity, Gill Haddow serves to
2
Michael Reiss, ‘The Ethics of Xenotransplantation’ (2000) 17(3) Journal of Applied
Philosophy, 255.
3
Emily Jackson, Medical Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (5th edn, OUP 2019) 680.
4
ibid.
5
ibid.
6
Egbert Schroten, ‘Xenotransplantation and moral theology’ (2001) Veterinary Sciences
Tomorrow, 1.
7
Gill Haddow, ‘Dirty pigs’ and the xenotransplantation paradox’ (2021) 47(4) Medical
Humanities, 417-424.
8
ibid.
9
Gill Haddow, ‘Animal, mechanical and me: Organ transplantation and the ambiguity of
embodiment’ in The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Body and Embodiment (OUP 2019)
