In the United States alone, 22 people die every day waiting for a kidney, liver, heart,

光是在美國，每天就有 22 人死於等不到腎臟、肝臟、心臟、

or lung transplant.

或是肺移植

There simply aren't enough donated human organs to go around, and we can't just go

基本上就是沒有足夠的人類器官捐贈，我們也不能

around stealing them out of random healthy people.

到處走隨便搶健康人士的器官

But pigs' organs have roughly the same structure and proportions as human organs – and we

但是豬的器官和人類器官有大致相同的構造和比例

already kill half a billion of the creatures every year for food – so why can't we

- 而且我們每年都已經殺了五億的豬 - 所以為什麼我們不行

just use their organs?

乾脆使用牠們的器官呢？

Here's the thing - our immune systems are really, really good at seeking out and destroying

事情是這樣的 - 我們的免疫系統非常非常善於搜捕並且摧毀

anything foreign to our bodies, so even human-to-human organ transplants sometimes get rejected.

體內任何外來的東西，所以即使是移植人類器官有時候也會有排斥反應

And pig organs are much foreign-er: they have a super-conspicuous sugar molecule on the

豬器官就更加外來了：牠們的細胞有一種非常顯眼的糖分子

surface of their cells that's basically a “fight me” sign for humans' organ-rejecting

那基本上就像在揮舞一個叫人類器官排斥抗體來攻打自己

antibodies.

的旗幟

But we've actually been able to engineer pigs whose organs don't carry those sugars, so

但我們其實已經有能力設計出器官不帶有這些糖分子的豬

assuming we could take care of pig organs' other “fight me” signs in similar ways,

所以假設我們也可以用類似的方式處理豬器官的其他「攻打我旗幟」

we might one day be able to transplant pig organs into humans.

我們有一天或許可以把豬器官移植到人體

But there's a far more radical idea for pork-based organ farming: grow customized human organs

但還有一個比在肉豬身上培養器官還要激進的點子：在豬身上培植客製化

in pigs.

人類器官

Actually, it's not just an idea – it's an ongoing experiment in real life.

實際上，這不只是一個點子 - 這是一個實際有在進行的實驗

First, we engineer a pig embryo that doesn't grow its own kidneys.

首先，我們設計出一個不會自己長腎臟的豬胚胎

Then, we inject it with stem cells from the person needing a transplant.

然後，我們將一個需要器官移植的人的幹細胞注射進去

Then, as the modified pig embryo develops, those human cells grow inside the oinkubator

然後，當基改過的豬胚胎成長時，那些人類細胞會在這個豬豬孵育器 (oink 豬叫聲 + inkubator 孵育器)

into healthy kidneys made from the patient's own cells.

長成健康的腎臟，而且是來自病患自身細胞

At least, that's the plan.

至少計劃是這樣

So far, we've only seen this experiment all the way through when the modified pig

目前為止，我們只看過把來自其他豬隻的幹細胞

embryos were injected with stem cells from other pigs.

注射進基改豬胚胎的實驗結果

We don't know whether it'll actually work with human kidneys, because we've halted

我們不清楚換成人類腎臟能不能成功，就在發展了只有四週後

all experiments with the pig-human embryos after just four weeks of development, because...some

我們就暫停了全部的豬-人類胚胎實驗，那是因為 ...

of those human stem cells could develop into other human organs elsewhere in the pig's

有些人類幹細胞會在豬隻體內的其他地方發展成其他人類器官

body - which raises a lot of ethical questions, like what to do with them.

這帶來了許多倫理問題，像是我們該拿它們怎麼辦

Even if the cells don't migrate and these hybrid pigs end up producing lots of live-saving

即使細胞不會位移，而且這些基改豬隻最後生產了許許多多挽救人命的器官

organs, what rights do we give to a part-human pig, even if the part is just a kidney?

我們又會給予這些擁有部分人類器官的豬什麼權利？即使那一小部分只是顆腎臟

What if it's two kidneys?

如果是兩個腎臟呢？

Two kidneys, a liver, and a set of lungs?

兩顆腎臟、一顆肝臟，還有一副肺臟？

In principle, we could use the same technology to grow human hearts, human spinal cords,

同理，我們可以運用同樣的技術培植人類心臟、人類脊椎

and even human brains - all inside of a pig.

甚至是人類大腦 - 全都在一隻豬體內

And when we do, how will we know if that pig is still a pig?

而當我們那樣做的時候，我們又怎麼知道那隻豬還是豬？

This episode of MinuteEarth is supported in part by Tab for a Cause.

這集分鐘地球由 Tab for a Cause 部分贊助

If you're like me, you open a lot of tabs in your browser.

如果你就像我一樣，會在瀏覽器打開一堆視窗

Tab for a Cause is a browser extension that donates to charity with each new tab you open,

Tab for a Cause 是一個瀏覽器擴充功能，當你每開一個視窗就會捐錢給慈善團體

which means lots of money for nonprofits like Conservation International and Human Rights

意味著會有很多錢給非營利組織，像是保護國際和人權觀察

Watch - without costing you a thing.

而且不會花到你任何一毛

The last time we featured Tab for a Cause, MinuteEarthings like you raised more than

上一次我們介紹 Tab for a Cause，像你一樣的分鐘地球觀眾就累計了

$10,000 - click the link in the description to help us do even better this time.

超過一萬元 - 點擊描述欄中的鏈接，幫助我們這次做得更好

And while you're down there, will you find the notification bell next to the subscribe

而當你看到那裡時，可以找找訂閱按鍵旁的通知鈴

button, and click on it?

然後點選它嗎？

YouTube has changed the way it notifies subscribers, and this is the best way to make sure you

YouTube 通知訂閱者的方式有變，這會是確保你知道我們什麼時候發佈新影片的

find out when we post a new video.

最好方式

You can do the same thing on your phone or tablet.

你在你的手機或是平板上也可以照樣做

If you don't see the bell, make sure you're subscribed in the first place.

如果你沒看到通知鈴，記得先訂閱

Thanks, and see you next time!

謝謝，下次見！