We Might Be Able to Grow Human Organs Inside of Animals. Should We?

This story was originally published by Undark and has been republished here with permission. In the United States, the clock is ticking for more than 114,700 adults and children waiting for a donated kidney or other lifesaving organ, and each day, nearly 20 of them die. Researchers are devising a new way to grow human organs inside other animals, but the method raises potentially thorny ethical issues. Other conceivable futuristic techniques sound like dystopian science fiction. As we envision an era of regenerative medicine decades from now, how far is society willing to go to solve the organ shortage crisis? I found myself pondering this question after a discussion about the promises of stem cell technologies veered from the intriguing into the bizarre.