Synthetic Organs

Social Impact

Every year, thousands of people die waiting for organ transplants that cannot be performed because of chronic organ shortages. The current waiting list is over 100,000 people long. (Unos Donate Life, 17)

Artificial organs will move the world of medicine forward, as society will greatly benefit: people won't have to wait anymore, surgeons can grow organs to help with surgical errors, burn victims can have new skin with their own cells - the medicinal world will be transformed.

Economic Impact

The scientific society was given hope when the first lab-made organ was successfully transplanted. However, researchers stated that the operations was too expensive for everyday use. The fact that the transplant was more accessible to the wealthy created a problem about the social consequences of such a procedure.

Although synthetic biology is a great substitute for real organs, there are numerous ways it can impact the economy. Bioerror is the result of unintentional release of engineered organisms that were not intended to come in conteact with the open environment, or the effects of unfamiliar organisms that invade and destroy native populations and turn out to be impossible to get rid of. The artificial products may compromise a large portion of a trillion-dollar market for alternative fuels by 2030. Several U.S. government agencies, such as the Nationsal Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Departments of Defense and Energy have already invested millions of dollars in synthetic biology foundations and ventures. (Wikipedia: Synthetic Organs, 3)