The Wall Street Journal has a nice slideshow this morning that shows, in vivid detail, the process by which heparin is extracted from porcine intestine. Or, as they put it:
In a small, damp factory here, blood-smeared men wring pulp from pig intestines, then heat it in concrete vats.
Since you cannot throw a ping pong ball in a hospital without hitting this drug, it’s worth asking: will an article like this lead to a surge of vegan or religion-minded people refusing heparin treatment? It has happened before.
(Photo from the Wall Street Journal)
1 response so far ↓
1 cherry2 // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:19 pm
this reminds me of that article in the new york times showing how manhattan manhole covers are made in india… namely:
..it’s fascinating that seems considered so modern and clean has such coarse and primitive steps in its manufacture.
Leave a Comment