What Happened to the Pig That Lost Its Heart? [Reading Science]

▲Mini pig used in non-clinical trials (toxicity tests).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] "What happened to the pig whose heart was taken?" Have you ever wondered?

Recently, in the United States, an experiment successfully transplanted the heart of an immune-removed genetically modified pig into a human. Everyone is focusing on the fact that the human recipient is surviving, but the pig whose heart was taken lost its life and was immediately discarded. Yes, that’s right. While there are high expectations that bio-artificial organs will open an era of disease-free longevity for humans, there are many ethical hurdles to overcome.

A prime example is the issue of experimental animals. Is it morally right to sacrifice animals for human welfare? Of course, even now, millions of animals are sacrificed annually in various animal experiments in South Korea alone. According to the Animal Experiment Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in 2020 alone, 4,141,433 animals were used in experiments and lost their lives. By species, the most commonly used were rodents (mice and rats) at 3,513,679, making up the majority. Also, there were 25,465 rabbits, 3,979 primates, 55,026 other mammals, 308,546 birds, 233 reptiles, 3,119 amphibians, and 231,386 fish. This was an increase of 429,053 animals compared to the total of 3,712,380 in 2019.

For what kinds of research were these animals sacrificed? The largest number, 1,795,709, were used for regulatory tests to satisfy legal requirements such as toxicity or efficacy confirmation. This was followed by basic research (1,295,008), translational and applied research (735,238), production of genetically modified animals (155,638), and others (101,199). There were also studies for species conservation (21,208), education and training (35,126), natural environment protection research for human and animal health and welfare (2,221), and forensic research (86).

There have been ongoing ethical concerns about humans sacrificing animals for their own benefit. In 1903, public outrage over the cruelty of experiments using dogs in the UK led to animal experimentation being recognized as an ethical issue. Similar concerns have been raised steadily in Korea, and recently, KBS’s drama "Taejo I Bang-won" sparked public anger when horses were killed in cruel ways during filming, which is a comparable case.

Currently, in toxicity evaluations where animals are mainly used, the toxicity of most substances has already been determined, making many animal experiments unnecessary. Various experiments on animals genetically distant from humans also have high inaccuracy. Only about 10% show effects similar to humans, yet too many animals are sacrificed for this. Using primates, which are genetically closer to humans, is an alternative, but they are very expensive and hard to obtain. Last year, research facilities in South Korea faced major difficulties as primate imports from Vietnam, Africa, and other regions were halted due to COVID-19, delaying experiments. Moreover, many primate experiment results do not match human outcomes.

Accordingly, scientists are seeking alternatives such as culturing human-derived cells to produce mini-organs (organoids) or creating artificial organs using electronic devices. Efforts are underway to find other methods, minimize animal use, and if unavoidable, to reduce suffering as much as possible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.