A strange Question [Archive]

Scamper

08-11-2008, 10:07 PM

Not sure where this should be placed, go ahead and move it if it needs to be.

Hypothetically, a man receives a heart transplant from a pig, lives for a few years, then dies. The doctors, hoping for other organs to use for transplants, pull it and other organ s out promptly, one of the doctors takes the heart, cooks it and eats it. The question is this: Did the doctor commit cannibalism?

Sylvia727

08-12-2008, 05:13 AM

Technically, I'd be tempted to say yes. One definition (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=cannibalism) of cannabalism includes "parts of the human body" and I don't think anyone's arguing that the heart was at one point part of the man's body. Even though the DNA is pig, the doctor removed it from a human, and I think that's enough to fit the standard defintion of "cannibalism".

But practically speaking, I'd be very worried about someone who ate anything that lived in a human being. That's just not right. This hypothetical doctor needs a psych exam, pronto.

Amethyst Hunter

08-12-2008, 06:43 AM

This guy wasn't seeing Hannibal Lecter, was he?? :eek:

Rapscallion

08-12-2008, 04:36 PM

I'd say the doctor just wasn't being paid enough...

Rapscallion

AFPheonix

08-12-2008, 07:51 PM

I hope he at least cooked it really well, who knows what human oriented communicable diseases that heart picked up while in the patient.

Giggle Goose

08-13-2008, 03:07 AM

Whatever you wanna call it; it's freaking disgusting!

It's like the original Grimm version of Snow White when the evil queen eats Snow White's heart; which was really that of a pig since the hunter set her free instead of killing her.

Flyndaran

08-13-2008, 05:32 PM

I hope he at least cooked it really well, who knows what human oriented communicable diseases that heart picked up while in the patient.

Cross species contagion is very rare. That's one of the reasons to use transgenic transplants... other than the dearth of organ donors in overly religious nations.

Though as to the original question, research has shown that free floating stem cells immigrate to organ transplants as a small measure of self healing. I believe they only studied human to human transplants, but the principle might work for transgenic too. This would result in true canibilism as he would be eating a very tiny amount of human heart tissue.

Though the only sensible reason I ever understood for the cannibalism taboo is that most cannibals kill their victims first. Disease is only a real concer if you like your meat anything other than well done.

Flyndaran

08-13-2008, 05:33 PM

AFPheonix

08-13-2008, 07:53 PM

Cross species contagion is very rare. That's one of the reasons to use transgenic transplants... other than the dearth of organ donors in overly religious nations.

Though as to the original question, research has shown that free floating stem cells immigrate to organ transplants as a small measure of self healing. I believe they only studied human to human transplants, but the principle might work for transgenic too. This would result in true canibilism as he would be eating a very tiny amount of human heart tissue.

Though the only sensible reason I ever understood for the cannibalism taboo is that most cannibals kill their victims first. Disease is only a real concer if you like your meat anything other than well done.

If he had a blood infection that killed him and the doctor did not clean the heart nor cooked it well, that would be a potential avenue for infection. Also if the doctor did a crap job of removing any adhesions or other human tissue from the heart, that could also be an issue.

Slytovhand

09-07-2008, 07:36 PM

Why... was the doctor a pig too?

And how did the pig live for a few years without a heart?

... oh - sorry...:p

I wouldn't call it cannibalism...just weird.

Saydrah

10-14-2008, 10:28 PM

I would just call the doctor stupid. Who the heck wants to eat pork heart? I feed that stuff to my dog and it's nasty.

Flyndaran

10-15-2008, 04:02 PM

I would just call the doctor stupid. Who the heck wants to eat pork heart? I feed that stuff to my dog and it's nasty.

Speaking as a near vegetarian, I believe that it is somewhat tricky to cook hearts properly.
Maybe you just got bad heart.

PepperElf

02-02-2009, 04:06 AM

better yet... WHY?
He's a doctor, unless he's Greg House he can afford a sammach at the hospital cafeteria... (and House if he's out of $ would just get wilson to give him some)

but yes.. it might not have been originally from a human but... it's been pumping human blood, it's been part of a human.

not to mention teh man's family would probably be really pissed off and sue. regardless of being cannibalism or not the doc would pretty much kiss the license good by and say hello to some shiny new bracelets or a new padded room.

sounds like an ed gein wannabe