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Midday on Ethics: Dr. Jeffrey Kahn on using animals as organ donors

Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH, is the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, a position he assumed in July 2016. (photo courtesy Berman Institute)
Jeffrey Kahn, PhD, MPH, is the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, a position he assumed in July 2016. (photo courtesy Berman Institute)

It's another edition of Midday on Ethics.

Two weeks ago, a surgical team at the University of Maryland Medical Center transplanted the heart of a genetically altered pig into a 57-year-old man, David Bennett. Mr. Bennett, so far, appears to be doing well.

Xenotransplantation, or transplanting animal organs into humans, has long fascinated physicians and scientists, and the success of the operation in Baltimore has raised the hopes of many in the medical community that major breakthroughs in xenotransplantation are imminent.

It's also raised a score of ethical questions, and when ethical questions present themselves, we turn to our good friend, Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, the director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

Dr. Jeffrey Kahn joins us on Zoom from Baltimore.

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Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)
Rob is a contributing producer for Midday.