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Artificially Grown Organs Hold New Promise for Organ Transplant Recipients

Artificially Grown Organs Hold New Promise

New studies reveal that artificially grown organs may work as well if not better than organs transplanted from other human hosts. Thanks to innovations in regenerative medicine, scientists are discovering new ways of generating tissue and organ growth within the laboratory. Using patient's own cells, scientists are now able to regenerate certain tissues and organs, providing hope that in the future organ transplantation may no longer require the services of donor victims.

Recently the first artificially grown organs were successfully transplanted into their human hosts, marking the beginning of a new stage in organ transplant surgery. In the most recent studies, seven patients received new bladders developed from their own cells in a laboratory setting. The results of the preliminary studies suggest that these organs are functioning as well as the original may have over time.

Many are claiming this new technology a remarkable development in the field of organ transplantation. Scientists are now working diligently to grow new organs and tissues for human use.

Organ Transplantation in Humans
Every year thousands of people lose hope and their lives while waiting for an organ transplant. There simply are not enough organs to accommodate all of the people needing organ transplants.

Waiting lists for donated organs continue to grow long and tedious. Previously health care providers had no choice but to rely on donated organs from other bodies. Today however researchers are exploring the possibility of transplanting organs that are genetically created in a laboratory setting using live human tissue.

This marks a new era in regenerative medicine. So far the bladders transferred into the seven test patients have proved fully functional and will hopefully prove long lasting. While the results of this study are promising, there is still much work to be done in the field or organ transplantation.

Other researchers are currently working on growing other tissues including blood vessels within a laboratory setting. The age of the engineered organ may yet be upon us.

Developments in Organ Transplantation
Developments in regenerative medicine may signal hope for thousands and thousands of patients requiring organ or tissue transplants. Much research money and development time is spent discovering new ways to grow and use tissues grown in the laboratory.

More long term studies are of course, necessary to evaluate the continued benefit of laboratory grown tissues and organs for human transplantation. Society is still a long ways from growing a heart and transplanting a heart into a human patient. Still, the results of this preliminary study are promising.

The patients involved in the bladder study were between the ages of four and nineteen. The cells used for the experiment were cultivated from their own cells. This reduces the risk for rejection typically associated with organ donations.

Using new procedures, researchers removed tiny samples of cells from the patient's original bladders. Researchers then transplanted theses cells to a biodegradable material where they grew over time. In each case a fully grown bladder resulted in as little as eight weeks.

Thus far, seven years post operation, the results of the study suggest that the new bladders are still functioning well with few of the side effects associated with traditional bladder transplantation.