Making artificial organs
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323699704578328251335196648
Recently, there's been more research into artificially making internal organs due to an increased demand for transplants. In the past few years, some organs have already been created, but these are mostly either cosmetic or easy to manufacture. Among these artificial organs that have already been created are noses and ears made out of fat tissue of a patient that have been grown on a scaffold. However, these organs don't have any of skin tissue covering the fatty layer, so these structures are inserted into the patient under the skin so that epithelial tissue will naturally sheath the appendage.
The next hope of many researchers is the creation of an artificial heart. Already, rat hearts have been created by using a scaffold made from another rat heart and some tissue to create a functional organ that can be inserted back into the animal. The same thinking is being used to make heart scaffolds that can possibly be used to create a living, functional heart to help patients in need of a heart transplant. When stem cells are placed on the scaffold in surroundings similar to an embryo, the cells seem to "know" where they need to be and in what order they need to do in to make a functioning organ. Hopefully, this research can yield results of a working human heart within the next 5 years, though it will most likely be another 5 after that before these organs are actively transplanted into humans due to safety checks.
This is really cool technology, and it has a special place in my heart because on both sides of my family, there have been multiple problems with the heart and organs that have had to be removed, so with this new technology, when it comes time for my organs to fail like my ancestors, hopefully there will be something to take it's place.
Recently, there's been more research into artificially making internal organs due to an increased demand for transplants. In the past few years, some organs have already been created, but these are mostly either cosmetic or easy to manufacture. Among these artificial organs that have already been created are noses and ears made out of fat tissue of a patient that have been grown on a scaffold. However, these organs don't have any of skin tissue covering the fatty layer, so these structures are inserted into the patient under the skin so that epithelial tissue will naturally sheath the appendage.
The next hope of many researchers is the creation of an artificial heart. Already, rat hearts have been created by using a scaffold made from another rat heart and some tissue to create a functional organ that can be inserted back into the animal. The same thinking is being used to make heart scaffolds that can possibly be used to create a living, functional heart to help patients in need of a heart transplant. When stem cells are placed on the scaffold in surroundings similar to an embryo, the cells seem to "know" where they need to be and in what order they need to do in to make a functioning organ. Hopefully, this research can yield results of a working human heart within the next 5 years, though it will most likely be another 5 after that before these organs are actively transplanted into humans due to safety checks.
This is really cool technology, and it has a special place in my heart because on both sides of my family, there have been multiple problems with the heart and organs that have had to be removed, so with this new technology, when it comes time for my organs to fail like my ancestors, hopefully there will be something to take it's place.
posted by Unknown at 4:23 PM
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