The ghostly form floating in a large jar had been the robust reddish-brown of a healthy organ just hours before. Now it’s semi-translucent, white tubes like branches on a tree showing through. FOX13
after receiving the world’s first heart transplant from a pig last January — an animal genetically modified so its organs didn’t trigger an immediate attack from the human immune system. The FDA is considering whether to allow additional xenotransplantation experiments using kidneys or hearts from gene-edited pigs.
The Miromatrix approach stems from research in the early 2000s, when regenerative medicine specialist Doris Taylor and Dr. Harald Ott, then at the University of Minnesota, pioneered a way to completely decellularize the heart of a dead rat. The team seeded the resulting scaffolding with immature heart cells from baby rats that eventually made the little organ beat, garnering international headlines.
The source of those human cells: donated livers and kidneys that won’t be transplanted. Nearly a quarter of kidneys donated in the U.S. last year were discarded because hospitals often refuse to transplant less than perfect organs, or because it took too long to find a matching recipient. That set the stage for testing a "liver-assist" treatment similar to dialysis, using bioengineered livers to filter the blood of people in acute liver failure, a life-threatening emergency. Doctors now have little to offer except supportive care unless the person is lucky enough to get a rapid transplant.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Making pig livers humanlike in quest to ease organ shortage at Minnesota labThe ghostly form floating in a large jar had been the robust reddish-brown of a healthy organ just hours before. Now it’s semi-translucent, white tubes like branches on a tree showing through.
Read more »
Minnesota grandpa builds 200-foot sledding course for grandkidsA grandfather in Minnesota built his grandchildren their own personal sledding course.
Read more »
It felt like Minnesota in D.C. this Christmas, the coldest in decadesThe weather outside was frightful. Readings fell to the single digits in Washington, for the first time in five years, and numerous records were set.
Read more »
Guilty plea from ex-Minnesota teacher who threw hockey stick at studentA former Princeton, Minnesota, teacher has pleaded guilty after hitting a second-grader with a hockey stick earlier this year.
Read more »
Missing college student in Minnesota found dead on ChristmasGeorge Musser, a student at University of Wisconsin-River Falls, was found dead in Baytown Township, Minnesota, on Christmas Day after he was last seen leaving a bar without a jacket early Saturday…
Read more »
George Santos' lies spark talk of Ilhan Omar 'marrying her brother'The unproven allegations regarding Omar, a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota, have circulated for years.
Read more »