Pig organs ‘available to patients in a decade’

Good Stuff

We are already using parts of animals for medical treatment, that is nothing new. When insulin first started being used, it was extracted from pigs, then cows, and now we have human or synthetic insulin.

Horses urine is used for hormone replacement for women, in a common pill called premarin.

...(Ayerst paid PMU producers) $44 million for urine, or about $17 a gallon. Ayerst then ships the extracted estrogen to its main plants in Montreal and New York where it is manufactured into Premarin, the world's leading hormone replacement drug....

 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LIE/is_1994_Jan/ai_n18606562

As far as raising animals to kill them, we do it all the time. We contribute to animal slaughter every time we eat turkey at Thanksgiving, or buy leather shoes.

Thanks Jeff - it would be quite a breakthrough. This said I can see the ethical arguments against it around all sorts of issues from various groups. Some might not be easy with the idea of having breeding farms of animals that are to be just used for 'farming organs' - at this point because of the genetic modification of the pigs they would not be seen as 'eatable' - especially if they contain human DNA - so the pigs would literally be farmed for organs - at the moment just kidneys.

I'm thinking this method would not be available for Muslims, Jews or members of other faiths and cultures that see pigs as 'dirty' animals not to be eaten etc.

This said I know that there are many ill people who will welcome this science.

YOU are right about the controversy related with the organ farm..........but suppose, if humans are used to develop organs for animals, what will be your reaction?BY gentically modifying humans mindset too.

That is happening,

 surrogate mother, use of humans for medicinal trials, and offcource  keeping clone......................copy to transplant rotting body part, are some of them. only thing is who can pay for this kind of services.

Millions of people die of T.B , malaraia, Hunger.......malnutrition, .............................a genetic elimination of mosquito itself can save 1.5 mollion people every year, but pharma company will not fund this kind of reserach .....reason known to all!!!!!!!!!

This would be relieve for  the vast numbers of Kidney Patients who wait for years for a replacement.

The only alternative is dialysis which can be done either by an over night lavage of the abdomen or standard dialysis thru a manufactured structured called a A-V fistula.   Both require surgery and both need to be revised over time.  

Over time it takes longer for both to work and leaves a reduced standard of life for the patient.  Dialysis has a cost issue as well.

I for one hope this is a next step.

Oh yes that is true. I didn't even think that far ahead and how other cultures would think of it.

Now that would be a turn around in thinking!

Oh my! I'm all for developments, but I'm not sure I'm 'ready' for this! ;)

Very interesting!

That's true Sara. But slaughtering to eat seems more natural somehow the mindset around genetically mutating a pig and the using them as organ farms feels SF but maybe all all breakthroughs felt that way at first.