Bryan Johnson claims to have cloned himself for organ harvesting, igniting ethical debates and backlash on social media.
On Tuesday, July 21, Bryan Johnson, a 48-year-old biohacker and anti-aging influencer, announced on X that he had cloned himself as a newborn, introducing his followers to what he referred to as “baby Bryan,” who he claimed was currently living in a petri dish.
In his post, Johnson expressed that while some might view the situation as a frightening prospect indicative of a dystopian future, he believes it represents the inevitable advancement in health. By the time of publishing, his announcement had garnered 1.8 million views.
Johnson elaborated on the cloning process, describing it as a blood draw followed by cell extraction, where his cells were treated with Yamanaka factors — a set of four proteins capable of reprogramming specialized cells back to a primordial state. He stated, “With this clone, I can become my own blood boy, test therapies on the clone, grow organs for transplantation, develop new treatments and inject young cells,” outlining his ambitions for the endeavor.
This unusually bold claim came on the heels of Johnson revealing that he had been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis, a chronic condition in which the immune system attacks the stomach’s acid-producing cells. Rather than perceiving the diagnosis as a setback, Johnson framed it as an opportunity for exploration. “Getting diagnosed with an incurable disease is one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time,” he remarked in his post. “It’s opened up a frontier of new paths to repair and strengthen the body. This is the first example.”
However, the announcement provoked widespread backlash. Many users took to social media to voice their outrage, with comments labeling him “evil” for his decision to clone himself for potential organ harvesting. One commenter wrote, “Imagine being born, and you’re just used as disposable parts for a mentally ill man afraid of death. You are truly evil, Bryan.” Another questioned the ethical considerations surrounding consent and personal rights, asking, “What gives you the right to harvest its organs, draw its blood, or subject this individual to experimentation for your benefit?” These sentiments ignited discussions about cloning and human rights along with skepticism about Johnson’s intentions.
Others took a more humorous approach; one user quipped about the idea of Johnson not even being the original Bryan Johnson, pointing to his cloning method as an ironic twist. The comment read, “It’s ironic that you’ve gone down this path because I regret to inform you that you are not the original Bryan; you were created to cure Bryan’s devastating case of irritable bowel syndrome.”
The backlash highlights concerns that Johnson may be misrepresenting the scientific understanding of cloning, with numerous comments accusing him of trivializing significant bioethical discussions related to cloning and organ harvesting. Further commentary suggests that Johnson is presenting personal experiments as legitimate medical science without independent verification or technical data to substantiate his claims.
Even experts are weighing in, challenging the framing of Johnson’s claims. NewsNation reported that what Johnson is describing likely pertains to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) instead of an actual clone. The iPSC technique, which was developed by Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka, is known for reprogramming mature cells to function like embryonic ones.
Notably, scientists have cautioned that creating fully functional, transplantable organs remains one of the biggest unresolved challenges in regenerative medicine. The pathway from experimental lab results to approved therapies is lengthy and fraught with hurdles that require much more investigation and testing.
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