Problematic projection onto cardiac organoidsThe heartbeat’s moral significance in the context of organ procurement and abortion should not automatically translate into moral implications for cardiac organoids. Second, the heartbeat does not fulfil the same function in the context of cardiac organoids. Cardiac organoids consist of different cell types, including cardiomyocytes (i.e., cardiac muscle cells), which give cardiac organoids their contractility. Cardiac organoids might beat like the real thing, but they are not the ‘real thing’ itself. Although, cardiac organoids are the structural equivalent of the cardiac structures in the embryo at an early state, this defensive potentiality argument does not translate from embryos to cardiac organoids, for cardiac organoids are (at present) not intended nor capable to fully develop into human hearts.

Source: New York Times May 21, 2024 10:06 UTC