Should humans use other animals for organ transplant?

Answer 1

It is rare, but it does happen that animal tissue is either implanted or used in such a way to replace an organ or machine temporarily to procure treatment or prolong survival. It is quite reasonable to assume that there is a much higher survival rate with human to human transplants than animal to human transplant, this is because the cells between humans are very similar however the cells from other species are drastically different.

There are many reasons why you should or should not use animal organs. One of the biggest dangers is that a virus would pass from animal to human much like a number of other viruses we have seen in the past.

The answer also depends on a certain factor. If the question was "Should humans use other animals for organ transplants now" it would have to be no. There are too many risks involved and not enough testing. When the first human transplants took place a lot of lives were saved but a lot more lives were lost due to the lack of information.

In the future however this may become a viable option, organs may be able to be taken from animals. The question you proposed though is 'should'.

This depends on the ethical concerns of taking something from someone else without permission, but an animal cannot give permission. One of the oldest philosophies in the world is to, "Eat what you Kill." That doesn't necessarily mean animals, it can also mean plants as well. If we were to use that philosophy, then as long as the animal didn't suffer and we consumed it, then there is no reason not to use the organ for transplant, in fact it would be more ethical to use the organ as it would last longer rather than eating it.

Animal rights however shouldn't be taken lightly, there are a lot of others out there who believe that animals should not be abused in this manner and there are a lot of points that could be made about this. For instance, animals are of lesser intelligence, would you take a favorite toy from a child merely because you wanted to play with it? Crude but the point is simple yet brings another point to the surface.

The question you'll really want to ask yourself is, "Is your life, worth more than the animals." Because eventually that is all this will boil down to.

#GazzyWazzy123

Answer 2

It is rare, but it does happen that animal tissue is either implanted or used in such a way to replace an organ or machine temporarily to procure treatment or prolong survival. It is quite reasonable to assume that there is a much higher survival rate with human to human transplants than animal to human transplant, this is because the cells between humans are very similar however the cells from other species are drastically different.

There are many reasons why you should or should not use animal organs. One of the biggest dangers is that a virus would pass from animal to human much like a number of other viruses we have seen in the past.

The answer also depends on a certain factor. If the question was "Should humans use other animals for organ transplants now" it would have to be no. There are too many risks involved and not enough testing. When the first human transplants took place a lot of lives were saved but a lot more lives were lost due to the lack of information.

In the future however this may become a viable option, organs may be able to be taken from animals. The question you proposed though is 'should'.

This depends on the ethical concerns of taking something from someone else without permission, but an animal cannot give permission. One of the oldest philosophies in the world is to, "Eat what you Kill." That doesn't necessarily mean animals, it can also mean plants as well. If we were to use that philosophy, then as long as the animal didn't suffer and we consumed it, then there is no reason not to use the organ for transplant, in fact it would be more ethical to use the organ as it would last longer rather than eating it.

Animal rights however shouldn't be taken lightly, there are a lot of others out there who believe that animals should not be abused in this manner and there are a lot of points that could be made about this. For instance, animals are of lesser intelligence, would you take a favorite toy from a child merely because you wanted to play with it? Crude but the point is simple yet brings another point to the surface.

The question you'll really want to ask yourself is, "Is your life, worth more than the animals." Because eventually that is all this will boil down to.

#GazzyWazzy123

Answer 3

Currently xenotransplantation is not routinely performed - people seem to assume it is far more common than it actually is. In fact, it is incredibly rare since animal to human transplantation does not currently offer a realistic alternative to allotransplantation. Xenotransplantation just doesn't work. In very rare circumstances it may be used to bridge a gap until a suitable human organ can be found, but it is never offered as a long term solution.

Please see related link for further details.

Answer 4

Generally they're not used, since animal organs are not similar to human organs, so are not suitable for maintaining function within the human body.

In very rare circumstances they are used to try and bridge a gap until a human organ becomes available. They are never used as a long term solution (because they do not work long term).

Whether they should be used or not is practically irrelevant, since they cannot be used as a long term solution.