Mojdeh
June Naziri
“Catch
22”
Is
it safe to risk the human race for the benefit of the few!
When asked how he feels about the advancement of science to places that
were once notions to be the job of the creator, Dr. Martin Luther King replies
by saying, “Cowardice asks is it safe? Expedience asks is it political? Vanity
asks is it popular? But the conscience asks is it right?”
This essay is about animal to human organ transplants otherwise known as
Xenotransplants. Even though this procedure is meant to save lives, it is
giving rise to metaphoric Frankenstein’s monsters and putting some aspects of
the Human Race at risk.
I
will touch on diseases that can jump species and cause catastrophic dangers for
humans such as Ebola and AIDS which the human population has no resistance
towards. I will also explore the
different religious view points on Xenotransplantation.
I believe it is important to first explain what this procedure is about
and how safe it is, keeping in mind the fact that four thousand people die each
year waiting for human organs. So,
what is Xenotransplantation? Xeno
means strange or foreign. The term
is used to describe a transplant between any two species of animals, including
humans. Xenotransplantation usually refers to a procedure in which an
organ, such as kidney or liver or live cells (such as brain cells) from a
healthy animal are grafted or transplanted into a human patient.
The transplanted materials are called xenotransplants or xenografts.
Plus, there are certain kinds of xenotransplants which are not true
transplants at all, because the animal organ or cells stay outside the
patient’s body. These are called
extra-corporeal (or outside the body) xenotransplants.
That is for example when livers from
pigs were connected to the bloodstream of several patients to clear toxic
wastes while the patients’ own livers recovered.
It should be mentioned that xenotransplants are not intended to be
permanent. While human transplants are generally intended to be
permanent, some kinds of transplanted cells may need to be replaced regularly in
order to function well and remain vital. Also,
certain kinds of xenotransplants are not really transplants at all, because the
animal’s organ or cells stay outside the patient’s body and are used only in
the short term, often as a bridge to transplant.
The safety of this procedure is always an issue because it has
to do with risks to the patients and risks to other people who might come
in contact with xenotransplant patients. Well,
what are the risks a person might ask? To
put in simple terms, animals may be infected with micro-organisms such as
different bacterial or viruses which are infectious agents that exist in the
environment where they live. In
some cases, these micro-organisms are species specific-meaning they will only
infect one kind of animal. For
example, pigs suffer from a virus that infects their intestines, that when
injected into humans, it did not infect them at all.
There are however some other kinds of microorganisms that are not species
specific. Some of them can infect
animals and even cause diseases in humans too with the animal being only a
carrier. These type of organism are
called zoonoses. A good example of this
type of infection is influenza (aka the flu). The flu virus first infects birds and pigs.
Even though it does not make thes animals sick, it does get passed down
to people who are in contact with them. As
we know, when one person gets sick with the flu, the virus may be passed along
easily to others. You might think
to your self that this is not a major issue, because scientists can just choose
totally sterile animals that have no infection.
However, many kinds of mammals, including humans, have a type of virus in
their cells known as “endogenous retroviruses”.
These viruses are buried in their DNA and are passed from one generation
to the next, usually without causing any harming the host species. It is known that all pig cells contain such viruses called
PERVs (Pig endogenous retroviruses). These
viruses have been a part of pig
cells for thousand of years. They
are not active and normally harmless to pigs.
Even though many of these viruses have been detected by researchers and
studied, it is impossible to predict whether these might be able to cause
disease in people or not. One of
the theories about the spread of Ebola and AIDS is that they could have been
retroactive viruses that have entered the human body and our immune system did
not have the capability to protect itself.
By transplanting live tissue cells or better yet, real organs into human
bodies it can be argued that the chances of passing a xenozoonoses increases.
Here
is the dilemma. Because we have the
technology to conduct xenotransplants, even though many of the risks have not
yet been discovered; should we pursuit it in the name of science and ignore the
catastrophic consequences?
I thought it would be very interesting to get the viewpoints of different
religions on xenotransplantation. These
few examples are listed in alphabetic order.
These view points were part of a research conducted by the council of
Europe in July of 2000.
Baha’i:
Xenotransplantation is acceptable, although unnecessary suffering to
the animals should be avoided. Reasons:
human beings are different and of higher order than animals.
Buddhism:
Xenotransplantation is unacceptable, although some individual
Buddhists may avail themselves of xenotransplantation dependent upon their
“stage of perfection.” Reasons:
Proper ethical conduct reduces hurt and suffering in both animals
and humans since both feel pain their consciousness.
Christianity:
A variety of responses toward xenotransplantation, however, generally
accepting. Would want to minimize suffering of animals.
Reasons: human beings have been given authority to rule over creation and
over animals. Arguments against include: interfering with nature - playing
God.
Hinduism:
Hindus do not believe in transplantation- either allotransplantation or
xenotransplantation, although exceptions might be made to accept an organ.
It is an individual choice. Reason:
the body must remain whole to pass into the next life.
The cow is sacred to Hindus; however, pig and sheep would be acceptable.
Judaism:
Xenotransplantation is acceptable because the over-riding value in
Judaism is to save life. This over-
Islam:
A diversity of opinion, but generally xenotransplantation is
acceptable. Like the Jewish
tradition there is an emphasis on the preservation of life.
Also, concerns were raised over the suffering of animals and that should
be minimized.
Sikhism:
The consensus is that xenotransplantation would be acceptable. Again, like other religious traditions the minimization of animal suffering is a priority.
Native
American:
Traditional leaders regard any form of transplantation as an
unacceptable violation of the integrity of the human body, however the decision
whether to accept a transplant is regarded as an individual one.
According to the majority of the religions noted here it is not a sin to
have a xenotransplantation. But thinking scientifically, is it really worth the
risk? Jonathan Allen, a well known
virologist has said, “This is a big mistake.
It only takes one transmission from one baboon to one human to start an
epidemic.”
What webs we weave for ourselves. Our
“frankenstein” humans are not only causing harm to themselves but may also
be transferring an infectious epidemic to the human population on this planet.
This procedure is not a new item in the world of science and technology.
Since the 1960’s many xenotransplants have taken place.
The first successful one was performed by Dr. Christian Barnard in South
Africa. Today, comical movies such
as the “animal", are being made about transplants and maybe it is a way to
change the attitude of the public towards such transplantations.
I believe it a personal choice and should be left to the individual to
decide and not the temple that they belong to.
However, as humans we are changing the normal speed of evolution and
destroying the natural order of nature, bad or good.
Yes, we do have the technology; but do we have the right to do it?
I think not!
Parkins,
Keith “ Animal-to-Human Transplants”
September
1999
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gain/x-trans.htm
(5/10/2001)
“Xenotransplantation:
Animal Organs to save human lives”
2000
http://dukenews.duke.edu/Med/xenobkgd.htm
(5/11/2001)
Fanjoy,
Sylvia
“Public
consultation on xenotransplantation”
(5/11/2001)