Directions: Please read the material provided and then craft a response to the following main questions posed to you. Once you have posted an original thread/reply, please respond to two other students’ posts in order to receive full credit. All entries must be thoughtful and convey your understanding of the biological aspects of the material. You must post an original thread in order to see other threads and responses.

Postings and replies must be completed by midnight on the due date. Biweekly discussions will always be due on a Tuesday (by midnight), but it is strongly encouraged to complete at least your original response earlier than the due date so that other students may reply to your post in a timely manner. As always, be courteous to your fellow classmates. You do not have to agree with them. This is a classroom style discussion and not a courtroom. Always be civil and respectful in your answers.

Discussion Topic 5: Scientists have been able to scratch the surface on some advanced and potentially ethically/morally “tight rope walking” concepts in modern medical science. We can now genetically engineer a subset of mini-pigs to essentially be organ donors for humans. Scientists can insert human genes in the pig genome in order to have human HLA genes (human leukocyte antigen) give rise to MHC proteins (major histo-compatibility complex) expressed haplotypes that are fully human. This presentation/matching is crucial from a transplant success perspective, as HLA genes expressed on the cell surface in the form of MHC protein, tells the body’s immune system not to attack the MHC expressing cells presenting what are called self antigens. If you have alleles of HLA that are too different in their coding sequence, the bodies immune system will attack and “reject” the organ. These pig grown organs may be an avenue to aide modern medicine and save lives of people needing immediate transplants as well as continue to provide a source of pork meat.

Recently, patients have begun receiving these exact organs in the hopes of showing the “pig to human” transplant system may be a viable option.

Man Receives GMO Pig Heart

Nature

Progress with GMO Mini Pigs

Transplanting Organs from Pigs to Humans

After having read the basic premise of each article, please answer the following questions:

1. Do you think it is ok to breed animals, much like the mini-pig, to serve as organ donors for humans? Currently, we still breed pigs for food and other commercial products. Instead of discarding their organs, does it stand to reason that we should make greater use of their body if we have the opportunity to do so? This would be much like the organ donor program that exists for people when they pass.

2. Is this potential organ donor program a situation where “science is going too far” or do you think that science should pursue this therapeutic avenue and use pig grown organs to supplement the need for human donor transplants around the world?

Please create an original thread addressing the questions posed, and please respond to two other students’ posts or replies.