“Spare” living human bodies might provide us with organs for transplantation
1 min read
Summary
The concept of ‘bodyoids’ has been proposed by MIT Technology Review, with the agenda to improve the efficiency of drug research and provide a source for organ donation, due to the shortage of organs available for transplantation.
Bodyoids are described as bodies that cannot feel pain or think for themselves, but are capable of being grown with synthetic human embryos.
The use of embryo-like structures is being utilised to attempt to get cows and monkeys pregnant.
The article questions what the definition of a human embryo is and suggests this may need to be reconsidered due to developments in science.
The use of bodyoids has been met with ethical concerns due to the lack of consciousness the bodies would have and whether this will upset the ‘natural order’.