Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Need a Heart Transplant? Just Grow One!

In a search for a method of heart transplant that would eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs, scientists are working to grow a heart from stem cells. This sort of a medical breakthrough could revolutionize the way modern medicine operates. 

Researchers take a fully functioning heart and remove all cells until they are left with a "ghost heart" or "scaffolding". Stem cells are then introduced to this framework and a new heart is grown. After being exposed to blood flow for 20 days, this new heart begins to contract again at a normal rate. 

This new technology could be used to replace parts of a heart damaged by a heart attack, or even possibly the entire organ in some patients. The heart is not the only organ that has been grown artificially. Research is also being done with other organs such as the liver. This new technology could be the future of medicine, eliminating the need for traditional transplant and the plethora of anti-rejection drugs. If a patient receives a heart grown directly from his/her stem cells, problems with the implant are less likely. 



4 comments:

  1. This is a incredible breakthrough in medical technology being used in practice. Hopefully there is more of this in years to come.

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  2. Honestly an amazing discovery! I believe this should be a top priority for researchers to perfect this procedure and work on doing this for other organs as well.

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  3. This is absolutely incredible! I had no idea science had progressed so far. If this works it could change the world! There would be no longer a need to wait for a donor to be found, you could just grow the specific organ needed for the patient and attach it.

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  4. This is an amazing discovery! It could potentially save many lives and improve quality of life for many more. Especially because the replacement organ is essentially the patients own tissue, which eliminates the need for anti-rejection drugs, which have a wide rangenof adverse side effects.

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