The heart of the matter.

Two commentators consider the problems raised by a hypothetical case study in which a heart transplantation team decides to use the hearts of chimpanzees, an endangered species and a complex form of animal life whose behavioral activities are close to our human selves. Donnelley argues from an "ecological perspective" that our final ethical duty is the protection of the ongoing realm of life as a whole and that ethical caution must outweigh "parochial human self-interests and medical technological hubris." The anthropocentric bias, according to Gaylin, appropriately defends the risk of sacrificing the species of chimpanzees to relieve the suffering and premature death of many children on the grounds that man "stands above the general animal host."