Lab-made Liver raises hopes
November 19th 2010 17:46
The US scientists claim that they have successfully grown miniature human livers in the laboratory. This breakthrough could pave way for customized transplant organs for patients. The scientists created working livers the size of the walnut by sowing seeds of the human cells onto scaffolds derived from animal livers. The original cells were subsequently replaced with immature human liver cells before being fed nutrients and oxygen in the bioreactor. The livers seemed to be growing and functioning like a normal human organ. This scaffold, which provided shape and structure for the new livers, were then seeded with human liver cells that were introduced using the blood vessel network that remains intact after the decellurisation process. However, it could take five or more years for the technology to find its way from the laboratory into hospitals.
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