Readers respond to last week’s Feedback Friday topic, which was:
Animal Organs Harvested for Humans
In a medical first, and what’s being hailed in the medical community as groundbreaking and lifesaving, a Maryland team of surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center successfully implanted a pig heart into 57-year-old David Bennett just two weeks ago.
The pig and it’s heart had undergone genetic modifications to give the organ the best possible chance of acceptance within its new (human) body. To date, Bennett remains in stable condition and under close medical supervision.
Citing a severe lack of human organ donations available, medical experts claim the process of growing, genetically modifying, and harvesting organs from animals such as a pig could be the game-saver for thousands on donor waiting lists. And so…
Our questions to you were:
Do you believe this is a medical breakthrough worth pursuing OR an ethical violation of animal rights?
Here’s what you said:
Well, we currently raise animals for slaughter to feed people. That's not very ethical to the animals. So where do you draw the line? Is it okay to raise a pig to give someone a heart to live? Is it okay to slaughter a pig so someone can gorge themselves on bacon they don't need? Clearly one of those is more important than the other. Let's ban bacon so we can get people new hearts ;)
Jennifer Pilholski, Severna Park
Ethically, it is not acceptable to kill one living species to benefit another. There needs to be a limit to playing God.
Rachel Felver, Annapolis
Want to share your own feedback on this topic? Fill out the online form here to contribute to the discussion.
