�鶹app

ABSTRACT:

Selling human organs is illegal in the United States and most of the world for profound ethical reasons. But what if organs were produced in a lab in Southern New Hampshire? This project addresses ethics in bioregenerative technology, specifically focusing on a local initiative: the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) in Manchester, NH. Their mission statement is "to advance the U.S. bioeconomy by enabling scalable, secure, and cost-effective production of regenerative medicine technologies,” primarily through using biofabrication technology. Biofabrication utilizes engineering to manufacture human tissues and organs, and it is critical to biomedicine [1]. 

This industry requires ethical guidance, but guidance is underdeveloped given the novelty of large-scale biofabrication. Normative ethical frameworks exist for organ donation, bodily commodification, distribution, and consent, but not for biofabrication. Without a framework, ethical questions appear retroactively instead of proactively, posing serious risks. To address this question, this study employed a descriptive, theoretical bioethical methodology. It analyzed relevant case studies of pharmaceutical development, scientific progress, and medical necessity against foundational philosophical frameworks. I considered ethical issues related to four relevant spheres: equitable distribution of biomanufacturer organs, informed consent of donors and recipients of manufactured organs, the commodification of manufactured organs, and various questions related to enhancing human biology. Preliminary findings indicate that the existing market-driven model of medical technology is unsuitable for this technology because it risks introducing several inequities such as the exploitation of cell donors, uneven patient access to health dependent opportunities, and the exacerbation of socioeconomic divides regarding health outcomes. This analysis emphasizes that regulatory measures must be taken to prevent the benefits of the technology from being undermined by for-profit medicine. Future directions include outreach to leaders in biofabrication and further development of ethical guidance before the clinical rollout of such critical but impactful technology.

POSTER

This study was funded by the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research at the �鶹app through a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). Sincerest of thanks to my mentor, Dr. Nicholas Smith, for his continuous guidance, project inspiration, and foundational support of this project.

References

[1] Tenenhaus, M., H. O. Rennekampff, and G. Mulder. 2016. “8 - Living cell products as wound healing biomaterials: Current and future modalities.” Wound Healing Biomaterials 1 (June): 201-225. .

Author and Mentor Bios

Emmie Duval is from North Conway, NH, and will soon be starting her junior year at the �鶹app where she is double majoring in biomedical science and philosophy. On campus, she is an Honors student, a Hamel Scholar, a competitor on the UNH Ethics Bowl team, and serves as the President of Alpha Chi Sigma, the professional chemistry fraternity. Her future plans include applying to medical school with an interest in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and medical ethics.

Nicholas Smith J.D./Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy and has been teaching at the �鶹app since 2002. He is the founding director of the UNH Center for Ethics.