Remember the speech in The World in 2030 where the speaker is the famous Dr Michio Kaku? Well, if not, watch it again
here. In the video, he said that as for right now, organs are being created artificially in the lab, with the aim to eliminate the need for organ donor. And this story about the success of transplanted trachea that was grown in the lab may astonish you more.
The story takes place in Sweden, where surgeons transplanted a trachea made by using the patient's stem cells. The patient, a man with his windpipe damaged due to cancer was the first donor-less organ recipient in a collaboration of surgeons between Karolinska University Hospital (Sweden) and University College (London).
The creation of trachea started with a 3D scan of the patient's windpipe. Then an exact replica of the original windpipe is created using the glass scaffold and was soaked in the patient's own stem cells, creating the trachea in a mere two days. The biggest advantage that this technique offers is the almost zero rejection from the recipient's body because of the use of his/her own stem cells. With no rejection from the body, typical anti-rejection drugs can also be eliminated from list of drugs to be consumed everyday.
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| How the trachea looks like |
The success of the lab-grown trachea and the transplant might as well give some hope to the people who needs the organ for transplant. As for now, kidneys, liver, heart and lungs are among the organs that researchers hope can be created in the future. With this, we can say goodbye to donors while waiting for our new organs to be created in the lab within days.
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