THE PROPER BASIS

Evening Star, Issue 21292, 22 December 1932, Page 12

THE PROPER BASIS

FOR GLAND GRAFTING RESTRiGTIOH TO THE GREAT The recent statement of a famous scientist that sex, age, ' and, in tact, almost alt tne cuaiuuteristics of the human body and mind can be controlled by skilful glaiifl grattiug, may be welcomed by many who shrmn Irom thoughts of senile old age, undue feminism, or an unbalanced mind, it would, indeed, bo a perfect world, if we could control the glands in sucn a way that we had no under-developed minds, no worn-out bodies, and no premature deaths from abuse of the organs. Unfortunately the problem is not quite so simple as that. Gland grafting opens up visions not only of Utopia, but also of a state of slavery, beside which the slave trade of seventeenth century Africa seems tame. This possibility was first brought home to me when, some tune ago, i read in a New York paper an advertisement offering £3O(J for a “ live ” ear to be grafted on to the head of the advertiser, writes Professor A. M. Low, in an African paper. I was not surprised when later I read that there had been many replies to this extraordinary advertisement. After all, there are thousands of unfortunate men and women to whom the loss of an ear seems trivial in comparison with £3OO, or, that matter, a decent meal. The fact is, of course, that as soon as the unfortunates or the world realise that their bodies are saleable commodities, they will rush to the nearest newspaper office and insert an advertisement reading: “Healthy young man needs job of any kind. Alternatively would sell any spare part on mutual terms.” THE MAGIC TRICK. These advertisements would be read by various elderly gentlemen who were feeling the first pinch of old age. Being but human, they would bo tempted. Perhaps their doctors had said to them, “ Ah, now if only you had a nice young man who" would part with his liver, I could guarantee you another twenty years. . . A contract, the passing of a cheque, and the deal would bo, done. An elderly debauchee would be free, to continue abusing his body, and making himself a nuisance to the world, while a poor man would find himself with a broken body and a few pounds. Obviously the question of gland and organ grafting is a matter that requires immediate and careful study, not so much from the experimental, as from the sociological point of view. I am not an opponent of gland grafting. I believe, in fact, that the name of Voronoff will be'remembered and honoured long after that of our most famous preacher and novelist is forgotten. But I realise that the wholesale and uncontrolled exchange of organs and human parts may bring disaster to the world. Already good health is largely a purchasable commodity. . If you are rich, you can buy health and comfort. The fact that the rich enjoy no better health than the -poor might be said to show that they do not appreciate their opportunities and abuse their bodies to such an extent that nothing less than a wholesale renewal of organs would save them from premature senility. THEIR ADVANTAGES. The rich man can buy unlimited sunshine, cleanliness, good food, exercise, and all those other commodities which the medical profession assures us are necessary to health. The poor have to make the best of what they can do, and are often more interested in the question of whether there will he a next meal, rather than of what it will consist. As a matter of actual fact, the poor often have the best of it. But that it a' different question. Hard work is a wonderful medicine. Imagine what the world will he like when‘free exchange of bodily parts is possible. The rich will bo able to engage the wealthiest surgeons, and no doubt some enterprising man will start an agency whose slogan will be, “ You want the best bodies. We have thorn.” If you had a mother dying of starvation and were unable to find any money would you hesitate about selling. an ear? And if you would sell an ear, why not a gland, or an internal organ? The surgeons would, no doubt, assure the sellers that they would suffer no pain, and the inconvenience following would he comparatively small. They would simplv give you the old organ, while the wealthy man had your young one. If you think I ahi exaggerating and treating the matter humorously, I would remind you -that there are already scores of men walking about with pieces of other people grafted on to them. This art is as yet only in its absolute infancy. Anything is possible in the future. Your grandfather would have laughed at the idea of a gland, the size of a pea, regulating the whole growth of the body. He would have laughed even more heartily if you had suggested that surgeons would have been able to make midgets or giants at will by operating on this gland. To-day we know that this can bo accomplished, that one material difference between a Camera and a circus midget lies in a tiny gland. We know, also, that some glands can be artificially nourished. We are learning that they may be sold. Our children may well see the day when some millionaire is no more like the man he was born than the cricketer’s favourite bat, which has had two new handles and three new blades, is like the bat he purchased originally. SHOULD BE LIMITED.

The world would definitely benefit if we restricted this grafting process to men who serve the public. How many scientists have died, through overwork and overworry, at an age when their worth was just becoming apparent? The great scientist who lived to be 100 and retained all his faculties would be of inestimable value to the world. Most brilliant men feel they are only just beginning to master their subjects when they bccofno due for retirement. Let us by all means consider the possibility of criminals sacrificing certain parts to stimulate the activities of great men. But it is our duty to see that the discoveries of science are not misapplied. We have often been given pictures of the “robot” rising up and destroying his master. This is, of course, impossible, since the “robot” would be immobile except at his master’s wish. But it is possible that this may happen in the case of the wholesale exchanges I have described, when every man’s life would have cash value, which could bo extended almost indefinitely, provided sufficient money wore forthcoming. Let us make sure that prolonged life and health are the reward of service to humanity and not of gold digging. The greatest danger is that certain gland grafting will be altogether banned, as it is at present in Great Britain, so that it has to be carried on secretly. We may have our “ gland bootleggers,” since Prohibition of any kind always begets bootlegging. But if we study the subject openly and determine to control it, it could'be of inestimable service, instead of positive danger.