Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have achieved a breakthrough in bioengineering by developing a kidney in laboratory for transplant. The kidney was transplanted into a rat, which successfully produced urine.
The scientists revealed that the kidney was taken for a dead rat. Old cells were stripped from the kidney that left a natural scaffold of collagen and other compounds. These are called extracellular matrix and work as a framework for the new cells.
The research was published online by the journal Nature Medicine. Dr. Harald C. Ott, senior author of the paper, said replacement organs made by using this technique hold advantages over artificial scaffolds or other techniques. He said the best advantage is that it is fully implantable in the shape of a kidney.
"If this technology can be scaled to human-size grafts, patients suffering from renal failure, who are currently waiting for donor kidneys, could theoretically receive an organ grown on demand", he added.
Kidney is the most demanded organ and nearly 5,000 people in the US died in 2011 without getting a kidney for transplant. The current technique to make kidneys will certainly bring down long waiting lists. Nearly 17,000 people receive a kidney each year for transplant for which they have to rely on a donor.
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