As with any new technological development, ethical concerns are a hot topic for debate with bioprinting. Especially in the medical field, where lives can be on the line, there are many ethical concerns. Bioprinting is no exception to this.
"How can we know in advance that these treatments are safe? Unlike the case of developing a new drug, a stem cell therapy can't be tested on a sizable number of healthy people prior to being tested on patients and then, finally, being made available as a standard treatment. The point of using a patient's own stem cells is to tailor the treatment quite specifically to that patient, and not to develop a treatment that can be tested on anybody else." -ABC Science
Safety is a number one priority for those in the medical field. Bioprinting is not available to be tested on a large group of patients, and this is why it is a concern.
- Human enhancement: Bioprinting involves taking a person's own cells to create a new organ. An organ such as a heart could be crafted to pump extra blood, or lungs to take in more oxygen. As the technology progresses, researchers have also discovered that they can make entirely new organs. These organs can help to increase the quality of life a person has, therefore increasing their life span. Organ enhancement can also be used to give superhuman powers, leading to an unfair advantage to those that have the money and resources to access bioprinting.
- Stem cells: Stem cells from embryos are currently becoming more popular to be used in bioprinting research. This raises the question of destroying human life. With adult stem cells, they are taken from a consenting adult that is willing to give part of their body to science. Embryonic stem cells, however, involve no consent from the future human. In fact, using embryonic stem cells involves destroying the embryo, which leads to no possible life. With this, many people believe that humans are "playing God", and not letting nature run it's course.
- Access: Bioprinting is an expensive technological advancement, and not many people can afford it. This can lead to people with either extraordinary amounts of money or connections to those in bioprinting to have an unfair advantage over the general public. These people will be the first to have new, strong bones and organs when needed. Instead of dying of heart disease, someone with more money than the average person could pay to have an entire new heart constructed and transplanted, leading to a longer and better life. For those without money, the organ donor list will be their best option. There is currently an organ shortage across the nation, and the several year-long wait list is not manageable for many people.
- Experimentation: As with any new technology, research needs to be done on those that receive treatments. People that jump at the chance to have an artificial organ risk being a guinea pig to researchers to determine what works and what doesn't. The first recipient's of artificial organs will most likely not be pleased with results, as it takes trial and error to find a balance. They are subjecting themselves to possibly an entire lifetime of testing to see how the organs work with their bodies. Bioprinting is not a technology that can be tested on a large scale. Each case is different and needs to be treated as such, making it difficult to prove that the technology works or is safe and beneficial.
"How can we know in advance that these treatments are safe? Unlike the case of developing a new drug, a stem cell therapy can't be tested on a sizable number of healthy people prior to being tested on patients and then, finally, being made available as a standard treatment. The point of using a patient's own stem cells is to tailor the treatment quite specifically to that patient, and not to develop a treatment that can be tested on anybody else." -ABC Science
Safety is a number one priority for those in the medical field. Bioprinting is not available to be tested on a large group of patients, and this is why it is a concern.
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