Medical Technology Advancement in Oryx and Crake

Medical Technology Advancement in Oryx and Crake

The advancement of technology in recent years has transformed the medical sector in the world. New machines are currently used in the medical sector in the provision of quality healthcare services. The modern medical technology has improved the healthcare sector in different ways. However, advanced medical technology has several disadvantages. Margaret Atwood, a Canadian author, indicates the new technological advancements in her novel “Oryx and Crake.” The novel “Oryx and Crake” reflects on the use of genetic engineering, biotechnology, and other technological advancements witnessed in nowadays medical sector.

In “Oryx and Crake,” Margaret Atwood explores the use of technology to create human organs for transplant from animals. Biotechnology was used in Organic farms to create artificial animals with organs that resemble human being’s organs (Tsai, 21). In the novel, pigoons were being created, and programming was being used to manipulate the internal organs of the pigoons to resemble those of human beings. The organs of the pigoons would then be used in transplants when human being’s organs required to be replaced (Marks, 190). Oryx and Crake display the use of technology in making transplant operations more effective and reliable. Transplantation of human organs uses new technology to replace an infected organ of a human being, which saves the lives of many patients. However, organ transplant is sometimes unreliable because of the limited supply of some human organs. Many states in the world do not allow the selling and buying of human organs, which is an ethical issue. As a result, some patients in hospitals lose lives due to lack of organs to be used in the transplant operation. Biotechnology, as depicted in Oryx and Crack solves the problem of shortage of organs to be used in human transplants by producing human organs from artificial animals, which makes transplanting medical procedure more effective and reliable.

The technology of using animal organs in human transplanting is currently being used in the world. The technology is referred to as xenotransplantation, and it has been used in the medical sector for several years (Cooper, 288). However, the technique has several side effects to the patients. Studies have shown that no animal part can fully correspond to the human parts. The animal organs used in xenotransplantation can fail after sometimes because they cannot fully function as the initial human organ, hence putting patients into more complicated health problems. Studies have revealed that xenotransplantation reduces immunity of the patient involved in the process placing the patient at a risk condition. Also, when an organ is transferred from an animal that was infected to a human being, the recipient individual is also affected by the animal infection. The health risks involved in xenotransplantation makes the process an ethical issue in the world.

In “Oryx and Crake” Atwood reflects on the advantages and the disadvantages of genetic engineering. In the novel, a character who is called Crack is a genius in genetic engineering. Animals and foods can be genetically modified according to the requirements of the genetic engineers as depicted in the novel. Genetic engineering is used in many medical aspects in the modern medical field. Crack in the novel modifies the genes of organisms and human beings to change their behavior. Also, the author reflects on the importance of genetic engineering to create meals that can prevent some human diseases. After his graduation in high school, Crack attended a technological school where genetic engineering was applied in the medical sector. The technology of genetic engineering as reflected by Atwood in the novel has a wide range of applications in the modern medical industry. Plant chloroplast is essential in saving human lives (Nester, 730). In the current medical field, plants chloroplasts are modified through genetic engineering to produce genomes that are useful in the production of biomedical products. However, with all the advantages brought by genetic technology, Atwood on his novel reflects the disadvantage of genetic engineering technology on human life.

Crack is used in the novel to reflect some disadvantages of genetic engineering in the medical field. Crack uses his knowledge in genetic engineering to create a drug referred to as Blysspluss. Crake says that the drug is used to increase the desire for sex and to prevent people from Sexually Transmitted Infections. Crack uses technology to modify the blysspluss pill, which then wipes a large population. Atwood uses this illustration to show how advancement in technology can be used to cause harmful effects on innocent people. Also, Crack uses genetic engineering to come up with the generation of people referred to as the ‘Crackers.’ Crack modifies the ‘Crackers’ through technology to make them worship him. The technique of genetic engineering is currently used in the medical sector to change the physical appearance of people, which is against the values of humanity. Therefore, through the advancement of medical technology, humanity can be made immoral.

Atwood in the novel “Oryx and Crack” predicts the possibility of using human-made organs to replace infected human organs. In the novel, Jimmy’s father is working on a project to come up with an artificial skin that will replace old and wrinkled skins in human beings. The technology of coming up with human-made human organs has been used to save human lives. In Stockholm, a thirty-six-year-old man whose windpipe had been affected by cancer was successfully replaced by the use of a human-made trachea (Bergeron, 220). Other man-made organs have been successfully replaced hence saving people’s lives through the use of advanced technology in the medical sector. Use of advanced technology in the medical sector has more advantages than disadvantages.

In summary, Atwood envisions the future of technology in the “Oryx and Crack” novel. Crack is used to depict how the use of advanced technology in the medical sector can have both advantages and disadvantages to human life. In the novel, biotechnology is used to produce organs from animals that can be used in human transplants through the process called xenotransplantation. However, xenotransplantation process can expose the patients involved in health risks. Atwood also indicates how genetic engineering can be useful and at the same time harmful to the human race. Genetic engineering is used in modifying plants to produce useful biomedical plants. On the other side, genetic engineering is used in changing human behaviors and physical appearance, an act that makes humanity immoral. Atwood in her novel predicted the possibility of using technology to come up with human-made organs. Artificial organs are presently being used in modern medical sector to save lives of people. Atwood in “Oryx and Crack” uses characters to show the advantages and disadvantages of advanced technology in the medical sector.