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Why can't we just clone individual parts? Why would we need to do a whole human and would it have to grow from baby to adult in the normal life span? Do we thi
by hattmall 5y ago
Why can't we just clone individual parts? Why would we need to do a whole human and would it have to grow from baby to adult in the normal life span?
Do we think any "mad scientist" types doing this, or is it just easier to use condemed prisoners?
- IntrepidWorm 5y agoIf you are growing single organs such as a liver, I would assume it to be more cost effective to simply grow the individual organ. If you are growing more complex structures and organ systems such as entire limbs or, for instance, a large portion of circulatory system (I have no idea how that would work surgically speaking, but we're already so far out in the weeds in this thread) I could see it making sense to grow the supporting structures in tandem.
- IntrepidWorm 5y agoRegarding your second point, I would strongly caution against considering even the most egrigious offenders for forced organ harvesting. There are currently serious allegations regarding China's black market organ trade (briefly, that political prisoners, dissidents, and minority populations are quietly executed and harvested to supply China's thriving organ market). As medical advances in transplanting improve and expand the ways we can repair the human body, this will only become more of a problem in the parts of the world where government designated "undesirables" can be quietly disappeared. It is simpler, cleaner, and less prone to malfeasance and corruption to limit organ harvesting to registered consenting individuals and lab grown tissue, where a chain of custody for the tissue can be established.