A research study involving animals with ethical issues
Today, the progress of heterologous transplantation is commonly discussed and examined to reduce the number of problems related to donor shortage and patient death. Thus, researchers continue using animals to check the possibilities of new transplantation alternatives and gain benefits in the human health industry. Despite the intention to follow all ethical norms and research standards, multiple questions and debates might happen. For example, Takamura et al. (2022) aimed to introduce a new therapeutic method to compare the level of rejection in neonatal and fetal kidneys. The researchers use wild pigs (donors) and cynomolgus monkeys (recipients). There were two experiments on animals, including the transplantation of neonatal kidneys and fetal kidney transplantation (Takamura et al., 2022). In both cases, animals fasted before surgeries and had to deal with post-operative outcomes, which provoked multiple ethical issues. The local Animal Ethics Committee approved the approach because the results proved the success of transplantation in the pig-monkey model.
The ethical issues involved in the research study
All animal experiences are associated with ethical controversies, even if the participants follow all the required rules and guidelines. According to Khoo (2018), a consequentialist calculus based on cost/harm-benefit analysis might justify animal research considering the impact on humans and the environment. At the same time, the roughness of consequentialism in animal research cannot be ignored, and some ethical concerns can be supported. In Takamura et al.’s study, ethical issues like no respect for animal dignity, no attention to balancing animal suffering and benefit, and no recognition of other options to avoid living beings’ suffering can be identified.
What to do differently to avoid these ethical issues
The research study plays an important role in the healthcare system and the quality of care that can be offered to seriously ill patients. Therefore, the chosen study might be justified and approved by the ethical committee and other organizations. Still, today, there are many other options to investigate the impact of new methods in transplantation processes. For example, computer-modeling techniques or human volunteers should be considered. Unfortunately, to achieve similar results, the avoidance of the above-mentioned ethical issues is hardly possible.
References
Khoo, S. Y. S. (2018). Justifiability and animal research in health: Can democratisation help resolve difficulties? Animals, 8(2).
Takamura, T., Matsui, K., Matsumoto, N., Saito, Y., Fujimoto, T., Tajiri, S., Yamanaka, SS., Matsumoto, K., Kobayashi, A., Yamamoto, I., Sasaki, H., Hirayama, H., Matsunari, H., Nakano, K., Nagashima, H., Kiyoshi, A., Kuroda, T., Inoue, M., Miyawaki, T.,…Kobayashi, E. (2022). In vivo development of fetal pig kidneys in mature monkeys under clinically approved immunosuppressant drugs. Engineering, 10, 65-73.