TISSUE ENGINEERING
from petri dish to patient
SOCIAL ISSUES
AFFORDABILITY
As a emerging field, the products created by tissue engineering techniques currently are limited and very expensive. Organ transplantation, is a very large financial committment; just the operation may cost up to a million dollars! Thus, patients awaiting transplantation must cover the cost of the operation and the artificial organ itself. As a result, the whole procedure of constructing an organ and and the transplantation only caters to a small, wealthy audience.
This leaves out the lower classes who cannot afford such technology. Is it fair to leave people with lower incomes out and only allow treatment for those who can pay? Or should we base patient selection on who needs it the most? Socioeconomic inequalities limit those who are in need and give more opportunities to those who are wealthy. The larger question is, should we even permit tissue engineered products into the market?
As time progresses, the price of tissue engineered products may level out current price disparities as a result of market regulation and standardization.
SAFETY AND COMPLICATIONS
Due to the lack of extensive research, there are no complications with current engineered tissue products. Despite this, there are still many potential side effects or safety issues that may do more harm than good.
The main issue with transplantation of in vitro products is that they are irreversible. These in vitro products also have the potential to transmit viral or bacterial diseases and/or unwanted cells from to contamination. Tissue engineered products are grown in environments with growth media, animal serum, and other substances that may be toxic to the patient. It is also impossible to determine the efficacy of the final product, which is determined on many factors inside the patient’s body, the product itself, and the surgical operation.
These three risks cause many to be dubious about the relative safety of tissue engineered products, but overall, these in vitro products are much safer than organs harvested from animals or acquired from donors.
Xenotransplantation always carries risks for immunological rejection, which could be fatal for the patient.
Another large concern is sanitation. Transplantation of products that were not handled appropriately may transmit diseases or infections that will not only harm the patient and spread disease but also undermine the main purpose of the product itself.
