Success for pioneer transplant op
Thursday July 26th, 2012
A boy of 13 is flourishing - two years after receiving a pioneering windpipe transplant, doctors report today.
Ciaran
Finn-Lynch received a donated organ infused with is own stem cells to
prevent rejection in 2010.
The operation took place at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
A report in The Lancet sets out how doctors can continue to improve the procedure, which was devised in "an emergency".
Doctors used Ciaran's own bone marrow cells for the project - as they did not have time to grow stem cells in the laboratory.
The team involved Professor Paolo Macchiarini, who has since moved to Sweden and continued to develop the transplant technique.
Professor Martin Birchall, of the UCL Ear Institute, said: "Since the treatment plan for Ciaran was devised in an emergency, we used a novel mix of techniques that have proved successful in treating other conditions.
"To minimise delays, we bypassed the usual process of growing cells in the laboratory over a period of weeks, and instead opted to grow the cells inside the body, in a similar manner to treatments currently being trialled with patients who have had heart attacks."
Tags: Child Health | Respiratory | Transplant | UK News
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