A pioneering transplant surgeon has called on researchers to step up efforts to "grow" new organs in laboratories.
Professor Paolo Macchiarini has been responsible for the implanting of bio-artificial parts of the human gullet and throat into patients from his base in Stockholm, Sweden.
Now he says the same technique should be used to grow more organs – and help solve the shortage of organ donors.
Writing in the Lancet, he sets out progress towards the dream of laboratory-grown artificial organs.
The technique involves creating a scaffold on which the patient’s own stem cells are grown – creating a body part of the right shape. Professor Macchiarini says finding the right material for the scaffold is one of the key challenges.
And, he says, patients involved in testing the new techniques must be willing to face loss of privacy.
He said: "Such an approach has already been used successfully for the repair and reconstruction of several complex tissues such as the trachea, oesophagus, and skeletal muscle in animal models and human beings, and guided by appropriate scientific and ethical oversight, could serve as a platform for the engineering of whole organs and other tissues, and might become a viable and practical future therapeutic approach to meet demand after organ failure."
Professor Macchiarini and his fellow authors state: "The pressure to advance this technique, driven by demand, the race for prestige, and the potential for huge profits, mandates an early commitment be made to establish the safety of various strategies…particularly when there are so many potential patients and doctors who are desperate for any remedy that offers hope."
The Lancet March 9 2012
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