Spare parts storage for organsMixing of humans and animals: Japan allows breeding

• 2019

Japan allows for the first time the birth of a mixed system of humans and animals. The aim of the project is to breed replacement organs.

Japanese researchers are allowed to start breeding human organs in animals .

The Science Ministry panel blessed the beginning of human stem cell research to be implanted in animal embryos and delivered by the animals, as Ayako Maesawa, director at the Tokyo ministry on Wednesday, confirmed. However, the permit only applies to a research project of the University of Tokyo. The overall goal of the research is to help people who have been waiting in vain for organ donation.

Mixed beings of humans and mice, monkeys or pigs?

A research team from the University of Tokyo now wants to implant so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) in embryos of mice. The embryos are genetically engineered so they will not have their own pancreas. It is expected that the adolescent fetuses will have a pancreas from human iPS cells, the ministry spokeswoman said. The fetuses are to be discharged from the animals. During pregnancy, it should also be found out whether human stem cells are spreading elsewhere in the body of the animals, Maesawa said. The discharged embryos would later be killed, the spokeswoman said.

At the same time, iPS cells are also to be implanted in embryos of monkeys and pigs . However, these should not be discharged by the animals. All they want to do is grow the embryos to find out what percentage of them are iPS cells.

Japan allows breeding of mixed beings for research

By the spring of this year, it had been forbidden in Japan to have such fetuses carried out. Behind this, ethical concerns existed that mixed race animals could arise from humans and animals . However, the Department of Science lifted restrictions on planting human stem cells in animals. It had come to the conclusion that such a risk of creating human-animal chimeras, technically lying at zero, it said.

via dpa

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