Introduction
Scientific evolution has brought with it several changes in moral and ethical fields. Organ transplants have challenged the health sector to invest in unnatural means to meet humanity’s existential demand. In this sense, there is a need to analyze the place of ethics in the use of hybrid beings (Human-Animal) for medicine.
Hybridization of Living Beings as a Support for the Survival of the Human Race
Hybridization is the joining of genetic heritage of different individuals from different populations. Hybridization is based on the genetic heritage of the beings involved, that is, the individuals involved must have some similarity. The first case was the Human-Pig hybrid, where human stem cells were inserted into pig embryos. The research was published by the Salk Institute of California in 2017. The ultimate goal of these hybrids was to grow human organs in animals to be used in transplants. The experiment involved 1,500 embryos, of which 150 formed hybrids. Another study from 2020 created a human-sheep hybrid that was 0.01% human. In the United States, about 100,000 people need heart transplants every year, and only 2,000 receive them, and in Brazil, about 2,000 people die due to lack of organs.
Between Bioethics and the Survival of the Human Race
The use of the human genome in hybridization with animals raises ethical questions in society. Bioethics is an area that deals with moral issues related to human, animal and environmental life. Despite the use of tiny percentages of the human genome in the hybridization process, and the attempt to direct the cells in the hybrid’s body so that they do not settle in the brain and become rational, making them cerebrally human. On the other hand, the development of this research and the creation of organs compatible with human beings would greatly help meet the demand for organ transplants and reduce the number of deaths, saving around 98,000 people annually in the United States and 2,000 people in Brazil. On the other hand, human and animal ethics are at stake, because scientists’ greatest concern is ensuring that consciousness does not form in the hybrid.
Conclusion
Human-animal hybridization has shown promise in solving the great demand for transplant organs in human beings. On the negative side, however, there is a reduction in humanity’s consciousness, since this would make them human. Thus, humanity is reduced to consciousness, ignoring possible failures after 28 weeks of life of the hybrids or the change in the life course of the animals, since in this context they are seen as mere objects for a specific purpose. It is urgent to create codes of conduct for the hybridization process and international regulation to avoid the imminent scandal that may arise with the failures and lack of knowledge of bioethical standards.