Kidney transplant celebrated, but what of the pig's life? - The Boston Globe

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Re "A first in transplants gives new hope: Mass. General doctors put a modified pig's kidney into a man" (Page A1, March 22): I was dismayed that your front-page article did not present a discussion of the ethics of breeding nonhuman animals as a source of organs for humans. The article does mention that "for security reasons, Mass. General declined to release the location of the facilities where they operated on the pig and where the pig was raised." Presumably that is to prevent demonstrations against this practice.

I could not find a response from animal welfare advocates or any indication of alternative viewpoints in Friday's edition of the paper. Without such a perspective, the article struck me as a one-sided account of the medical breakthrough.

Marianne McGowan

Framingham