Will the first human-pig embryo revolutionize healthcare?

While the upcoming release of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast already has 2017 poised to be a landmark year for human-animal hybrids, few could have predicted that scientists would one-up Hollywood’s CGI version of the film’s paramount role. In a stunning development, scientists announced last week that they have successfully created the first human-animal hybrids. According to National Geographic, “[the] project proves that human cells can be introduced into a non-human organism, survive, and even grow inside a host animal, in this case, pigs.” While the science surrounding the human-pig embryo, or chimera, is still in its infancy, scientists’ ultimate goal in this area is to grow human organs inside of animals as a means to provide transplants.

Setting aside the many potential ethical questions, it is easy to see how such an advance could someday have monumental implications on the availability of donor organs, which are desperately needed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that approximately 22 people die each day waiting for a transplant, and every 10 minutes another person is added to the long waiting list.