Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 74(3) Aug 2024
Paper
Formation of human monkey chimeras subjects human embryonic development to animal control is unethical and should be banned.
Rev Professor P Pullicino and WJ Burke
A
recent news report in the Independent Newspaper announces “the first
human-monkey hybrid”. “Chimera” research involves injecting stem cells of
one animal species into the early developing embryo (blastocyst) of
another animal to produce an animal that incorporates cells of another
species, has been pursued for many years (figure). Chimera research using
human stem cells has recently been given a stimulus because of the need
for more transplant organs. It is hoped that incorporating human cells
into an animal will allow an organ (such as a heart) from the adult animal
(such as a pig) to be transplanted into a human without generating a
rejection response in the human that up to now has made this impossible.
The ethical concern about using human embryonic stem cells has been set
aside because pluripotent stem cells can now be formed from human skin
cells without the need for using embryos using so called induced
pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Pullicino et al [1] have however shown that these iPSCs are the moral and ontological equivalent of an embryo and so use of these is no different from using embryonic stem cells. In addition this group has also reaffirmed that chimera formation by combining human and other animal cells is unethical as it is is capable of disrupting the specific identity of man and is an assault on human dignity [2].
The
use of human iPS cells represents a significant worsening of the ethics of
chimera research. Human-monkey chimera research has been going on for
several years including in a laboratory in Spain as this article points
out. What is different about this Chinese laboratory is unclear, only that
it is possible that these chimeras are being allowed to survive beyond the
Western ethical limit of 14 days. The John Paul II Academy for Life and
the Family ( JAHLF) reaffirm here that this research is totally
unacceptable even given the stated aim of producing transplantable organs
and that all chimera research using human pluripotent cells should be
banned.
References
- Pullicino, Patrick, Edward J. Richard, William J. Burke. 2020. “Production of Human “Embryoid” Cells from Developmentally Frozen Embryos: Is It Ethical?” Linacre Quarterly 87:347-350.
- Pullicino, Patrick, Edward J. Richard, William J. Burke. 2023. Human–Animal Chimera Formation for Organ Transplantation: Subjugating Human Embryonic Development to Animal Control. Linacre Quarterly 90:112-115.