Probably, I can't remember the title at the moment but that sounds right. The health problems were brought up near the end of the novel. Most of them due to the rapid way hybrids age.
The history channel had something on some Russian experiments for the same thing. I think it was covered during an episode of Monster Quest (which I only ever give credence to because they actually found something once).
I'm not waving off the difficulties, or the ethics, I'm just saying human beings always seem to find a way to do things we just shouldn't ever do.