Chapter 8, Page 14
Artificial “Enhanced” Organs Are Here!
So Why Are People Still Turning to Organ Traffickers?
By Dr. Gruen Lunther
Is your heart failing? Need a new kidney? Don’t worry, we can grow one in a lab, genetically-designed to function in peak condition and perform better than new. It would be like getting a transplant from the healthiest individual alive—but specifically tailored to your body.
Despite that, illegal organ trade has skyrocketed in recent years. But why?
Firstly, artificial organs are extremely costly. Those without the economic support can simply not afford the procedure. Likewise, the same applies to those in third world countries, where organ traffickers thrive. In many cases, it’s cheaper to buy a black market organ than an artificial one.
And there are other impending concerns on the horizon. As artificial organs become more popular, traditional methods of organ transplantation will become less practiced, leading to ramifications that are three fold. One—organ donors will continue to grow scarce as hospitals become unwilling to transplant organs in favor of far more profitable artificial replacements. Two—as the practice becomes rarer, insurance companies may drop coverage for standard transplants. And, finally, three—doctors themselves might become reluctant to perform transplants, as two patients are potentially at risk, the donor and recipient.
Another factor is the case of deceased donors, where fewer and fewer people will consider choosing to donate organs after death once the medical world shuns the practice. Unfortunately, since artificial organs are tailor-made to their recipients on a genetic level, those can not be transplanted to others.
But why are the wealthy, who can afford artificial organs, still buying through the black market? There are numerous personal reasons and beliefs that may cause one to reject artificial organs. A small but increasingly popular theory is that artificial organs can eventually have negative effects on the human body. This is wholly unproven—but those who believe it claim that the use of artificial organs are still too new, and that medical science has yet to see how these “fake” organs will affect the body in twenty-to-thirty years.
There have been very few instances where a recipient’s body rejected the artificial organ. In the handful that have been documented, it was believed that the body simply couldn’t adjust to the genetically “perfect” organ, or that the new organ overworked other unhealthy, weak, or failing organs. This has only happened in a small percentage (under 3%) of registered patients.
Regarding the fear of artificial organ rejection, similar claims were made years ago about bio-identification (BID) chips, which 98% of the global population now have implanted in their body. Some would argue that BID chips are so insignificant in size—smaller than a grain of rice—that they pose little threat but, decades ago, many decried the implantation—yet it’s readily accepted today.
Overcoming the economic hurdles of artificial organ replacement is key to this new avenue of medical advancement flourishing. While a vocal minority of naysayers may persist, the benefits of artificial organ replacement can not be overstated, along with how many lives it will potentially save and improve.
Danger Zone One. Story by Midnight. Art by Salaiix.
You know you’ve had way too much fun during your first week on a new job when you can easily recognize the screams of a coworker.
Eh. Donor organs are also tailor-made to match the original owner at genetic level. You’d have the same caveats trying to transplant artificial organs to a non-matching recipicent as with normal transplantations, but it should be doable. More than that, you could probably just make the artificial organs in a way that doesn’t trigger the immune response, making them universal match with lower rejection rate and better availability (as you wouldn’t have to wait for a matching donor, or clone them individually tailored) than donor organs.