There are multiple problems with replacing our organs when they get damaged. First, there is a waiting list for obtaining new organs if they are actually replaceable.
Second, even if a suitable replacement organ is found, the recipient has to take anti-rejection medications for the rest of his or her life.
However, thanks to Dr. Gabor at the University of Missouri, these problems look to soon be a thing of the past.
Utilizing the same technology as inkjet printers, replacement organs will soon be able to be printed in layers similar to the way rapid prototype machines build products out of polymers. The difference is that instead of ink or plastic, live cells are used as the medium.
... the challenges in using stem cells for medical therapies have shown that the results of injecting cells in solution are limited - cells alone can only do so much. But a functional piece of tissue from the patient's own progenitor cells, which can be matured outside the organism, ex vivo, under conditions similar to those it will see in vivo, can add tremendously to the therapeutic power of the cells themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment