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Outline for xenotransplantation essay
Benefits of xenotransplantation
Benefits of xenotransplantation
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The medical procedure of Xenotransplantation, (transplanting animal organs into humans) has been happening for many years, this medical practice was proceeding mixed results and mixed views regarding the procedure. In the year 1984, a baby girl whom was named Baby Fae by medical staff, became known world wide for the medical procedure she endured. Baby Fae had a potentially fatal heart problem, she was suffering from Hypoplastic left heart syndrome which is a fatal disease if not treated by surgery, (Time Magazine, 1984). The only way to save her was to replace her failing heart with a healthy seven month old baboon heart. The medical professionals that were working on Baby Fae were excited to be able to perform this Xenotransplantation on the infant. After the procedure Baby Fae was acting like any normal healthy infant would. But unfortunately, the replacement heart surgery wasn’t a true success story as the medical staff had hoped. Baby Fae died 20 days after her surgery because her tiny body rejected the baboons heart, which then went on to cause other fatal damage such as kidney...
Therapeutic cloning is the process whereby parts of a human body are grown independently from a body from STEM cells collected from embryos for the purpose of using these parts to replace dysfunctional ones in living humans. Therapeutic Cloning is an important contemporary issue as the technology required to conduct Therapeutic Cloning is coming, with cloning having been successfully conducted on Dolly the sheep. This process is controversial as in the process of collecting STEM cells from an embryo, the embryo will be killed. Many groups, institutions and religions see this as completely unacceptable, as they see the embryo as a human life. Whereas other groups believe that this is acceptable as they do not believe that the embryo is a human life, as well as the fact that this process will greatly benefit a large number of people. In this essay I will compare the view of Christianity who are against Therapeutic Cloning with Utilitarianism who are in favour of Therapeutic Cloning.
Recent high profile cases, films and books all around the world including the UK, Australia and the United States have brought to the public’s attention a new type of IVF. ‘Embryo Selection’ meaning ‘Embryos are fertilised outside the body and only those with certain genes are selected and implanted in the womb.’ Henceforth meaning that doctors are now able to select specific embryo’s and implant them into the mother of who may have another sick child in order to gain genetic material such as bone marrow which will match the ill-fated child and therefore hopefully be able to save their life. Creating a ‘saviour sibling’. ‘A child conceived through selective in vitro fertilization as a potential source of donor organs or cells for an existing brother or sister with a life-threatening medical condition’ a definition given by Oxford Dictionaries (1.0). Cases of this are happening all around the globe and many are highly documented about. The most famous case could be noted as in the fictional book of ‘My Sisters Keeper’ By Jodi Picoult. I will further discuss this throughout my dissertation and how books and films can affect the view on certain ethical subjects. Furthermore, I am also going to discuss a range of factors such as certain religious beliefs and the physical creation of saviour siblings compared to the creation of designer babies. Strong views are held by many both for and against the creation of saviour siblings.
In 2001 scientist attempted to create a cloned human embryo, they had consulted all the necessary sources before getting the “ok” to begin “creating”. Then they had to find a female subject to donate eggs. To start the process of cloning they need to use a very fine needle and get the genetic information from a mature egg. Then they inject it into the nucleus of a donor cell. The female donors were asked to take psychological and physical tests to screen for diseases and what not.
“In 1984, a baboon heart was transplanted into a newborn infant, Baby Fae, who had hypoplastic left heart syndrome and lived 20 days after heart surgery” (Bailey LL, Nehlsen-Cannarella SL, Concepcion W, et al. Baboon-to-human cardiac xenotransplantation in a neonate. JAMA. 1985 Dec 20.
In this argumentative essay written by Dr. Ron Kline a pediatrician who wrote his essay titled “A Scientist: I am the enemy”. The article gives an insight on how animal research has helped many people and shine a light on the benefits of animal research. Ron Kline is the director of bone marrow transplants at the University of Louisville. Furthermore, the essay explains his thoughts and his own reasons for his love of medical research. In addition, the essay include the opposing side of the argument which has a lot feedback from activist groups that think that animal research is horrible.
Many ethical and social implications arise with xenotransplantation. For example, if some countries allow xenotransplantation and others don’t, there may be a trend towards “xenotourists” – people who travel to get the surgery. They if these people were to contract a disease it could spread and even cause a pandemic. Their country of origin would feel the negative effects so making the decision not to allow this
Ethical issues also play a role in the selection of the solutions. Most patients perceive xenotransplantation as an acceptable alternative to transplantation of human organs in life-threatening situations provided the potential benefits outweigh any likely adverse effects on the animals. Xenotransplantation of organs from chimpanzees and baboons has been avoided, because of ethical concerns as chimpanzees are listed as endangered species and the fear of transmission of deadly viruses. Pigs are plentiful, quick to mature, breed well in captivity, have large litters, and have vital organs roughly comparable in size to those of humans. Further there are physiologic similarities between their antibodies to human antibodies, and also since they are already being used in the consumer market, organs have been mainly harvested from pigs. Humans have had prolonged and close contact with pigs, their use for the purpose of xenotransplantation is believed to be less likely to introduce any new infectious agents. Porcine islet cells of Langerhans have been injected into patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Porcine skin has been grafted onto burn patients, and pig neuronal cells have been transplanted into patients with Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.
There have been numerous developments in the subject of biotechnology. One of these advancements contains xenotransplantation. It is the transplantation of living tissues, cells or organs from one species to another. For example, it covers transplantation of vital organs like heart, kidney and also skin graft, bone transplant s, corneal transplants. The purpose of human xenotransplantation is that it proposes a possible solution for the problem of the shortage in human organs because the number of accessible organs is not equal to the number of needed organs. For instance, according to M. Anderson’s article the number of people waiting for an allotransplant (it refers to a same-species transplant such as human-to-human.) is progressively increasing without organ donations. In addition, approximately half of those demanding an organ transplant will die while on the organ donor waiting list (Anderson 205). Furthermore, it can also be used to treatment other illness where there is a scarcity of human material accessible such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, diabetes. As we can see, in theory xenotransplantation provides good solution for human beings, however, when look at the history we cannot see same good things. For instance, in 1964, a scientist who is Keith Reemstma transplanted a chimpanzee kidney into a human with end period nephritic disease, increasing the participator’s life a record nine months (Anderson 205). However, there is another case which is Baby Fae. In this case doctors transplanted a baboon hearth into the baby and he survived just four w...
The omnipotent promise of ART, coupled with parents’ deep desires to have their “own child”, overwhelms and overshadows the capacity to think, sometimes with tragic consequences. We see parents who relied on reproductive technologies to conceive now expect other technologies will rescue and maintain their babies. It is heartbreaking to hear NICU parents wonder if their pregnancy would have been healthier and the baby more likely to thrive if they had transferred only one embryo. Or listen to them worry that it was the selective reduction from quads to twins that brought on the premature labor and then birth at only 25 weeks.
Beginning in ancient times, animals were experimented on out of pure curiosity, and people did not understand how different systems really worked. Today, we have an undeniable understanding of the body’s functions and metabolism, proving that this practice is becoming increasingly unreliable, expensive, and above all: cruel. For centuries, innocent animals such as rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, cats, dogs, and primates have been used for man’s own selfish wants. In modernity, “an estimated 26 million animals are used and slaughtered every year due to animal research.” (“Should Animals Be Used for Scientific or Commercial Testing?”, 1). For some, animal research is the image of medical breakthroughs. For others, the mere thought brings the image of animals being locked in cages, starved, alone, and in pain. Animals’ rights are commonly ignored, and malpractice is often hidden from the public eye.Widely believed to bring medical gain, animal testing is cruel, inhumane, and costly. This practice is a flawed system that should be bypassed at all conceivable costs.
Megan Godwin Mrs. Brown Period 1 1 February 2016 The Dangers of Creating Unnatural Life The creation of Frankenstein’s monster was not natural and too dangerous. Victor Frankenstein chose all of his creation’s characteristics, but when the creation came to life it turned on him. Scientists today are trying to gain control over human life by going against nature and making something of their own and not letting nature be nature.
“It is a simple fact that many, if not most, of today’s modern medical miracles would not exist if experimental animals had not been available to medical scientists. It is equally a fact that, should we as a society decide the use of animal subjects is ethically unacceptable and therefore must be stopped, medical progress will slow to a snail’s pace. Such retardation will in itself have a huge ethical ‘price tag’ in terms of continued human and animal suffering from problems such as diabetes, cancer, degenerative cardiovascular diseases, and so forth.”
A major ethical concern that has been under speculation for many of years is focused around animal ethics, and whether or not certain animal practices are just or inhuman. There are many questions that focus around fundamental issues concerning the moral status of animals. It is critical to understand the difference between a concern for animal welfare and a concern for animal rights. A current issue that is important to understand and analyze is animal experimentation, and although many consider it to be an unethical practice, there are many pros and cons to the controversial topic. Although animal experimentation has been very beneficial medically, the argument can be made that using animals to experiment is not always necessary.
"Xenotransplantation – Ethical Considerations Based on Human and Societal Perspectives." Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica. March 31, 2004. http://www.actavetscand.com/content/45/S1/S65.
One of the most unsettling experiments that is conducted includes taking organs from one species and transplanting them into another, which is known as xenotransplantation. The practice of genetic engineering in animals destroys the life of one animal to create specific, unnatural traits in another. Research has shown that people will only agree and accept the practice of animal experimentation when they think that the animals do not experience suffering. However, if the experiments were broadcast more publicly, this issue would not exist.