What if we had hospitals with Petri dishes of organs growing for their patients instead of people dying on waiting lists?
The Harvard Medical School is working toward that possibility with a project led by Dr. Anthony Atala.
For the first time, scientists have reported being able to grow a complicated organ in a laboratory and successfully transplant it into humans. Such organs are tailor-made from the patient's own cells and grown on a mold made of synthetic polymers.
Four hundred million people suffer from bladder disease all around the world. Malfunctions of the bladder can be caused by any number of things including birth defects, cancer or trauma.
Current treatment up until this point has been faulty. Most bladders that need repair receive patching up from stomach or intestinal tissue. This can result in infection or bladder stones as well as a leaky bladder.
Studies have shown that smaller tissue sections can be grown and put in patients to replace damaged areas of cells. But it is harder to get those cells to operate autonomously as an organ without some guidance from the original failing organ in the patient.
Atala and his research group reported growing these new bladders in lab by simulating the body's temperature and environment. The cells came from seven children diagnosed with spina bifida, a birth defect that does not allow the patient's spine to develop normally. In addition to other effects, spina bifida can result in the loss of certain bladder functions. They were attached onto the bladder of the patient and progress was observed for several years.
Eventually, the molding that was used to create the shape of the organ will degrade in the body and a functioning organ will be left behind.
In theory, by using the patient's own cells, the body's likelihood of rejecting the organ is dramatically decreased. Currently, many organ transplants fail because of rejection.
To me, these grown bladders look like pink balloons floating in some unknown red goo in a Petri dish. But to many, this is a new life-saving procedure on the horizon of tissue engineering. According to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, 4,000 people a year die waiting for an organ transplant.
Tailoring an organ for each person would be a lengthy and expensive process. But it may become a viable option in our lifetimes.
Many people are excited about this research, and not just because of its promising application for developing other organs in the lab. Growing cells on artificial scaffolding circumvents the need to use stem cells to grow certain tissues, an idea that many scientists have debated over.
The research has some shortcomings, and it will probably never be applied to repairing damage in the complicated cells of the nervous system or liver. What's more, this technology cannot be as easily used with solid organs like kidneys.
Developing this current technology will not be as controversial as the utilization of human embryos to develop tissues. In addition, it has already had some success.
For patients that need certain transplants, I applaud this option that will not require they take a stance on stem-cell research in order to get treatment.
Anjali is a molecular biosciences and biotechnology major. Reach her at anjali.patel.@asu.edu
