Horse stem cells boost RVP recovery.
by Matt
Arsenal FC striker Robin Van Persie is going to be (or already has been) injected with placenta cells from a horse in order to speed up his recovery from an ankle injury sustained last week. The controversial surgery, which you have to go to Serbia to receive, was also administered to Liverpool players Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera, who could return from injury far ahead of schedule for this weekend’s game against Manchester City.
Am I the only one who thinks this practice is kind of weird?
This is totally proof that stem cell research is worth the so called ‘moral-risk’. The results of this sugery should be closely followed.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s anything inherently immoral about using stem cells in humans. I think they represent a huge leap forward in medicine. Having said that, it’s the fact that the stem cells come from a HORSE that somewhat vexes me.
It all sounds a bit like Frankenstein. Yet it’s like putting a pig’s kidney into a human, or using leaches to promote blood flow to grafted tissue. Maybe they’ll develop a hankering for carrots and oats and grow manes…
What exactly is so vexing about it? I imagine there’s a very good reason for using horse placenta. (a biological and medical reason, not an ethical one)
I’ve read conflicting things about this treatment.. Benayoun claims it was human placenta, and that there was no injection:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/6637789/Liverpools-Yossi-Benayoun-says-placenta-cure-was-from-a-woman-not-horse.html
Either way, I’m not particularly bothered by it… a heck of a lot of the food we all eat has genes that came from different species (and for the most part it’s perfectly safe), how is this more vex-worthy?