Pigs Are Not Your Spare Parts

In response to the recent story on the possibility of transplanting pig organs into humans, PETA’s senior vice president, Kathy Guillermo, released the following statement:

Pigs are individuals, not spare parts. Organ transplants from animals to humans have never worked, and even genetically engineered organs are no sure bet. People desperately in need of an organ could be helped right now if more Americans registered as organ donors. The U.S. could even enact a presumed-consent law that would allow organs to be used unless the person specifically requested otherwise. Tinkering with the genes of these intelligent and sensitive beings to turn them into organ factories is a waste of lives, time, and money—and the suffering caused is unimaginable. There’s no need to pour money into cruel experiments when better solutions are so obvious and simple.