this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023
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A month after a pig heart transplant, man works to regain strength with no rejection so far::It's been a month since a Maryland man became the second person to receive a transplanted heart from a pig


and hospital video released Friday shows he's working hard to recover.

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[–] AccidentalLemming@lemmy.world 139 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Growing genetically modified pigs with human-like hearts to save human lives? The ethics of that are a bit complicated, but from a STEM perspective it's a really fascinating idea. What a time to be alive.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 147 points 2 years ago (3 children)

There's nothing ethically wrong with this until we consider eating meat unethical. As a society, we're nowhere near that.

If you personally don't want to use this, you can opt out.

[–] AccidentalLemming@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago (3 children)

You're breeding and killing an animal for its organs, and some would find that unethical. But you are doing it to save a human life, so it's a bit of a trolley problem I suppose.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 56 points 2 years ago (4 children)

It's not less ethical than doing it for meat, is my point.

[–] BastingChemina@slrpnk.net 29 points 2 years ago

Especially since a pig raised for organ transplant probably has way better living conditions than a pig raised for meat in an industrial farm.

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[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 19 points 2 years ago

That's literally what the meat industry is though. I guess in americanized cultures more of the animal is seen as waste parts rather than food, but those probably become hot dogs anyways.

Anyways, the way I see it meat for eating, and even pig organ transplants are both raising a pig to put parts of its body into a human's body.

[–] theUnlikely@sopuli.xyz 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Is it different from breeding and killing an animal to eat it?

I would argue it's more ethically defendable. There are lots of meatless alternatives to eat. A viable hearts for transplant are scarce and if you need one then you NEED one.

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[–] name_NULL111653@pawb.social 63 points 2 years ago (35 children)

As much as I love animals (more than most people I meet), as a species we must value human life over animal life to some extent. Suffering for corporate exploitation? No, that's cruel and evil. Minimal suffering in an organism to save a human life? I wish there was a way to keep it from being sentient (so no suffering is felt), but I believe it's a fair trade for a human life. But yes, we must always strive to minimize the suffering we cause.

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[–] deaf_fish@lemm.ee 12 points 2 years ago

I hope we get to mass manufacturing lab grown hearts quickly. No need to harm sentients.

1 Star Trek replicator please!

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Easy just grow cabbages with human-like hearts to appease the vegans.

[–] Hadriscus@lemm.ee 46 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

See ? show this to the next person who says 'ACAB'

[–] Cethin@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I doubt this pig opted-in to the donation. If it wasn't a choice, it doesn't make them good.

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[–] nodsocket@lemmy.world 37 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] navi@lemmy.tespia.org 6 points 2 years ago

We all know he has a gold sword somewhere in his house.

[–] merthyr1831@lemmy.world 30 points 2 years ago

Same guy gonna rush to the doctor after his heart rate hits 200 while staring at some mud

[–] Dasnap@lemmy.world 30 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Has he gained any pig-like superpowers so far?

[–] FrostbyteIX@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

"Spider Pig, Spider Pig, Does whatever a Spider Pig does..."

I'm surprised and mildly disappointed no one else commented this.

[–] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 25 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Why pig hearts? Is it just a size issue?

[–] cynar@lemmy.world 85 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Pig organs are approximately the same size and configuration as human ones. They also share a very similar immune system and biochemistry. We also have experience breeding and genetically modifying them. This makes them the easiest option to modify for human use. Still not easy, but easiest.

[–] Surdon@lemm.ee 9 points 2 years ago

Oh so animal farm was literal?

[–] riskable@programming.dev 37 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

Unexpected Lol. Well done.

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[–] Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

Skill issue, actually

[–] GrammatonCleric@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] Clbull@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

South Park certainly didn't hold back on that episode 😂

[–] frokie@lemmy.world 23 points 2 years ago

Man, and I thought I had bacon in my heart

[–] DrM@feddit.de 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)
[–] Furball@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago

Jim haggerty? You survived?

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[–] mightyfoolish@lemmy.world 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The Maryland team last year performed the world's first transplant of a heart from a genetically altered pig into another dying man.

What is this sentence? The word "another" implies either this man wasn't the first or that a "genetically altered pig" is legally considered dying man.

[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The man in the first four paragraphs of the article, Lawrence Faucette, is the second dying man to receive a genetically modified pig heart. The first dying man, referred to in your quote, only survived two months but the heart failed, possibly due to a virus in the heart that came from the pig.

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