NationStates Jolt Archive


Cloning organs

Terran Empire
25-02-2005, 03:02
Alright today in school I read about a law that was passed in the 80’s saying it was illegal to sell and buy organs for people who need them and I think that’s a good thing, that’s just sick! What if you bought a cancer ridden liver, I mean there isn’t any way to tell if you are getting a good replacement or not. So I got to thinking today, I know cloning humans is illegal because its playing god or some shit like that (if you haven’t noticed I’m an atheist, I know horrible me I should die) anywhoo, I was thinking instead of cloning people why not clone a limb or organ, I mean it would save lives, I mean isn’t that what’s important, like for example someone needs a new kidney but has the rarest blood type on earth and there’s a 1- 1,000,000,000 of him receiving that kidney, if we cloned it then what harm are we doing…meh I though it would make good debate.
Updates
25-02-2005, 03:13
the only problem I would forsee with Cloning your own organs would be that if your original kidney (for example) were to fail, then so would your cloned kidney, which would probably mean having to get it replaced at regular intervals, but that aside I think cloning your own organs would be a big step forward
Alien Born
25-02-2005, 03:17
How do you propose to clone just the organs. Would it not be necessary to clone the whole person, raise them to adulthood to produce adult organs suitable for transplants?
Atheistic Might
25-02-2005, 03:19
Are you joking? It is usually pretty easy to tell if an organ has cancer; on an X-ray the cancerous growth will appear darker than the healthy tissue.

Plus, even if your organs fail now, it doesn't neccessarily mean that they will fail in the future. If you drink until your eyes are yellow, your liver is most likely shot. But if it is replaced by a cloned organ, and you stop drinking, it should not fail again.
Updates
25-02-2005, 03:20
no you would do it via stem cells;

first take a small amount of your kidneys cells, then cover them in stem cells, the stem cells would then change into kidney cells and you would be able to grow a whole kidney, then just insert it into your body and your done
Dontgonearthere
25-02-2005, 03:22
You can grow certain organs on a template and keep them alive via nutrient baths and such, for example, skin can be grown now, and grafted.

I for one, support it. Its a great way to get organs without going through the whole removing them from dead people buisness. It ensures no diseases and makes rejection less likely.
Emperor Salamander VII
25-02-2005, 03:24
I've never heard anyone give me a scientific argument against the cloning of organs for replacement.

As for those that have religious objections - cool, don't accept the procedure if it becomes readily available but DON'T get all uppity and demand that the rest of the world has to suffer because of your sensitivities.
Pastafaria
25-02-2005, 03:29
If an organ is cloned, is its soul cloned as well? (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=400417)
Alien Born
25-02-2005, 03:31
And now for the difficult question. Would this type of cloning aply to brains as well. If you suffered some non lethal brain trauma, could you swap your brain for a new one?
Terran Empire
25-02-2005, 03:35
oh you bastard, you had to ask it...ah well i dont think it would work with the brain, its just too sophisticated, their isnt any way to clone your present state of mind, i jsut cant see you manipulationg a frontal lobe like that... i beleive if you had fatal brsain damage, well start looking at funural homes.
Alien Born
25-02-2005, 03:40
oh you bastard, you had to ask it...ah well i dont think it would work with the brain, its just too sophisticated, their isnt any way to clone your present state of mind, i jsut cant see you manipulationg a frontal lobe like that... i beleive if you had fatal brsain damage, well start looking at funural homes.

Ok, whole brains maybe not, but just splice in a replacement for the damaged part. The connections may not be the same, but surely it is better than having that bit missing. Your original connections all went west anyway.
Terran Empire
25-02-2005, 03:44
it may work depending on what was damaged, for insntance i think the hypothalamus may be cloned, and the pons, the medula, sure, i dont think the sneory strip, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and thalamus can be though, well without the person being "different"
Terran Empire
25-02-2005, 03:46
oh and i didnt mean the bastad part.... more of observational humor really, my bad
Alien Born
25-02-2005, 03:54
it may work depending on what was damaged, for insntance i think the hypothalamus may be cloned, and the pons, the medula, sure, i dont think the sneory strip, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and thalamus can be though, well without the person being "different"

This leads to the possibility of a strange and very unlikely set of circumstances. Imagine that someone has a job that has a high risk of brain injury (I have no idea what this could be). He undergoes repeated transplants until no part of his original brain is left. Now brain injury will oftem leave a survivor being a different person. To what degree could this person with a completely different brain be said to be the person he was when he started this stupid, but presumably very highly paid, job?
Alien Born
25-02-2005, 03:55
oh and i didnt mean the bastad part.... more of observational humor really, my bad

Don't worry. I've suffered worse at the hands of three year olds.
Sel Appa
25-02-2005, 04:00
Actually organs can be donated...
Terran Empire
25-02-2005, 04:02
Don't worry. I've suffered worse at the hands of three year olds.


well tahts good...

well to say the most if a large part of momory bankls was replaced he would probably have th capacity of an infant. unless we were able to record his thoughts, memories, personality, desires, fears everything onto a "disk" then upload it to a new brain then he should in theory have the same memory as before and everyting, but i doubt we as human will ever see a day like that in the future.