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| Quote: Building a scaffold for the bladder is one thing, building one for the heart is far more complicated. One of the problems when you move to larger organs is the getting the blood supply to work, connecting arteries, capillaries and veins to keep the organ alive. It is why some researchers are investigating "decellularisation" - taking an existing donated organ, stripping out the original cells and replacing them with new cells from the patient who will receive the organ. Prof Martin Birchall, a surgeon at University College London, has been involved in a number of windpipe transplants performed in this way. | |
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16679010
This is more staggering jaw-dropping stuff. To précis the story:
1 - We can’t grow complex organs from scratch
2 - So take a donor organ, wash out the original cells leaving a protein scaffold
3 - Use the recipient’s stem cells to grow new cells in the scaffold
4 - Implant in patient
So far, they can do this with wind pipes etc., but work appears to be progressing on more complex organs - hearts for example. 2% functionality may not sound like much right now, but given time that 2% will become 20%, then 50%…
What is going on in this area is, frankly, amazing.
