Thousands of Americans require a heart transplant each year, but are unable to secure a donor organ. In many cases, they pass away before receiving their life-saving transplant.
If a patient is lucky enough to find a donor organ, they have to take strong immunosuppressants to help their body tolerate the new organ. Even when using these drugs, some patient’s bodies reject their new heart, which can be potentially fatal.
Scientists in the United States may have discovered a solution that may provide 100% compatible human hearts for transplantation. This innovative technique can grow human heart from stem cells extract from the patient’s body. The technique was developed by researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Details were recently published in the journal Circulation Research.
It’s not the first time that researchers have grown tissue using stem cells. They have previously grown tendons, ligaments, skin, and even portions of the eye. However, it is the first time that they have grown highly-compatible human heart tissue in this way. The key was to develop an architectural scaffold which resembles the heart, then place cardiac stem cells on it.
The scientists built upon previous research, which allowed them to strip a donor organ of any cells that might trigger an immune system response. Using this technique helped them ensure the heart would be 100% compatible with the donor.
Scientists used human skin cells to create cardiac cells. Those cells are soaked in a nutrient rich solution and grown before being applied to the scaffolding. After a few weeks, the researchers discovered that the cardiac cells have created working human heart tissue.
The next step is to complete the scaffolding into a full-sized human heart that is ready for transplantation. If successful, scientists could save the lives of thousands of people each year.
Source: Scientists Grow Beating Human Heart From Stem Cells
{{cta(‘010124f3-c9bc-4a23-b9fc-74953e6288c9’)}}