Commentary: Faulty science, untimely deaths -- Animals and patients deserve better than flawed organ transplants

Dr. Emily Trunnell, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Feb 11, 2026

Published in Op Eds

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Imagine taking your SUV in for a new fuel pump, only to have the mechanic dismantle a nearby motorcycle and pronounce, “This one might work!” Most everyone would know to bolt for the door, but tragically, experimenters toying with xenotransplantation—cutting organs out of genetically engineered animals and stitching them inside humans—are putting patients in a far more dangerous situation.

National Donor Day, on February 14, was established to honor donors, families and recipients, and we can do that by supporting proven, effective organ transplants and viable solutions to the organ shortage.

Most of the patients who have undergone scientifically and ethically flawed xenotransplantation procedures have passed away shortly thereafter. Others have survived only when the organs were quickly removed as they started to fail or the patient’s body rejected them.

One recipient of a pig heart who died two months later had received an organ that was infected with cytomegalovirus, a viral infection common to pigs that frequently kills unborn piglets. Pre-operation testing didn’t detect it.

Transplant recipients are particularly vulnerable to these types of harmful pathogens because they’re commonly given immune system suppressant drugs in order to reduce the chance of organ rejection. Patients can then transmit the pathogens to friends and family members. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts—including researchers from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—were warning about the potential of xenotransplantation to spread zoonotic diseases.

And human patients are far from the only victims. Inside just one xenotransplantation laboratory at Columbia University, a whistleblower reported to PETA that experimenters were playing what amounted to a disturbing game of checkers, shuffling major organs between baboons and pigs and subjecting them to multiple invasive surgeries.

After enduring horrific outcomes from the procedures, all of the animals were killed. At the University of Alabama–Birmingham, another whistleblower revealed a litany of atrocities, including that after one baboon’s body rejected a pig kidney and her health began to deteriorate, experimenters tried to hide the sores that covered her skin by dousing her with Woolite laundry detergent.

If you wouldn’t trust your life to this pseudoscience, you’re not alone. Despite the sensationalist headlines, countless scientists and health experts have decried these experiments as unsafe, unethical and unlikely to solve the organ shortage. But another practical solution could.

Every year in the U.S., more than 28,000 donated organs go unused due to system inefficiencies. Improvements to the organ donation supply chain would save numerous lives.

In addition, countries including Austria and Spain have increased the number of available organs, in part by adopting presumed‑consent laws. While the specifics vary by country, presumed‑consent systems generally assume individuals are organ donors unless they have formally opted out, and families may still be consulted when a person’s wishes are unclear.

Many other countries have also implemented presumed‑consent laws, including Belgium, Denmark, England, Sweden and Wales. Improved public education has also been shown to increase donor rates. And other truly headline-worthy scientific advances deserve more focus and more funding, including methods to better preserve an organ’s integrity until it can be transplanted and 3D-printed organs created from healthy human cells.

Other species aren’t junkyards for humans to comb through for parts. They are living, thinking, feeling individuals who ask for nothing but to live free from abuse. This National Donor Day, please have a heart for everyone suffering in the name of xenotransplantation by supporting advanced, humane science and making a personal decision on organ donation.

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Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and the Director of Science Advancement and Outreach for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.

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