Lab grown organs transplant

[PainRack]

Something that somebody on SB posted..... Looks interesting. Let's pray that we can grow heart and kidneys soon, not to mention blood.

bladder transplant

[Broomstick]

The problem with growing blood is that red cells have no nucleus and don't divide. What you'd be cloning is bone marrow, which makes blood. Actually, blood is the easiest organ to transplant and while there are some shortages from time to time it's nothing like the problems with kidneys and livers.

The lab grown bladders are impressive, as is the lab-grown skin, but both have the advantage of being basically thin membranes that can be coaxed to grown over a form into a specific shape. Getting nutrients to all the cells is a relatively simple matter (which is, nonetheless, complicated enough). A solid organ, such as a a liver, kidney, or heart is not simply a mass of one or two types of cells but several, and an interior circulatory system of blood vessels must also be constructed as it is grown.

The next items we may see is actually cultured pancreatic islet cells, the insulin producers, which, if successfully transplanted, would be a cure for Type I diabetes (Type II diabetes involves the metabolism of other body cells, so simply supplying more islet cells won't necessarially solve the problem). The advantage of the islet cells is that they can be put into the body as isolated cells in a saline solution, take up residence in the liver, and function as they normally should. Since islet cells obtained from organ donors have been (a few times) successfully transplanted in this manner we know it can work. In other words, no complicated three-dimensional structure needs to be cultivated, just one type of cell. Problem there is that islet cells are damn fragile. Cultivating the patients' own islet cells would be a problem if they no longer exist, or if the patient had developed an auto-immune problem that lead to their destruction in the first place. It gets quite complicated.

Another thing I'd like to see is gene engineering of skin cells. There are a number of nasty, debilitating skin disorders connected to just one gene. If we could harvest skin cells, modify their genetics slightly, then cultivate new skin we could vastly improve the lives of people with disorders like harlequin ichthyosis and dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, disorders terrible enough that a full-body skin graft starts to look like a reasonable solution.

[TheBlackCat]

The problem with growing blood is that red cells have no nucleus and don't divide. What you'd be cloning is bone marrow, which makes blood. Actually, blood is the easiest organ to transplant and while there are some shortages from time to time it's nothing like the problems with kidneys and livers.

Actually they use chord blood more, it can generate all types of blood cells but is a lot easier to get a hold of.

The lab grown bladders are impressive, as is the lab-grown skin, but both have the advantage of being basically thin membranes that can be coaxed to grown over a form into a specific shape. Getting nutrients to all the cells is a relatively simple matter (which is, nonetheless, complicated enough).

In reality there is no such thing as "lab-grown skin". There is a lab grown skin substitute, but it is no where near as good as real skin. It lacks hair and many of the glands found in real skin and is no where near as tough, elastic, or flexible as regular skin. The bladder is basically a bag of muscle, relatively simple as organs go. Skin is far more complicated, and most other organs are more complicated still.

[Admiral Valdemar]

This kind of prefabricated organ system is neat for press releases, but essentially useless for the more complex organs which really are something else unlike a bubble of skin, which is all a bladder is. Going from the simplest organ or an outer ear to a heart or kidney is a big step. I'd much prefer we get over the stem cell setback thanks to a certain disgraced S. Korean scientist and focus on pluripotent ESCs which can just be injected in a patient and will assess any damage and simply regenerate. No need for even surgery.

A long way off, perhaps. It is, however, a far better substitute.

[Broomstick]

The problem with growing blood is that red cells have no nucleus and don't divide. What you'd be cloning is bone marrow, which makes blood. Actually, blood is the easiest organ to transplant and while there are some shortages from time to time it's nothing like the problems with kidneys and livers.

Actually they use chord blood more, it can generate all types of blood cells but is a lot easier to get a hold of.

But not for long, if the current trend of private storage of cordblood for private use keeps increasing. Fewer people are willing to donate to the common good, instead keeping the cells on ice for a future that may never arise, nevermind the financial drain and the fact that even frozen cells don't last indefinitely. The real shame is that potentially lifesaving tissue will be thrown out down the road when either the family is no longer willing or able to pay the storage fees, or it's found the cells are too old and are no longer useful.

The lab grown bladders are impressive, as is the lab-grown skin, but both have the advantage of being basically thin membranes that can be coaxed to grown over a form into a specific shape. Getting nutrients to all the cells is a relatively simple matter (which is, nonetheless, complicated enough).

In reality there is no such thing as "lab-grown skin". There is a lab grown skin substitute, but it is no where near as good as real skin. It lacks hair and many of the glands found in real skin and is no where near as tough, elastic, or flexible as regular skin.

No, it's far from perfect, but it's better than nothing in many cases. There continue to be improvements in these substitutes.

I think we'll see an artificial, lab-grown skin before we see an artificial, lab-grown liver.

[PainRack]

The problem with growing blood is that red cells have no nucleus and don't divide. What you'd be cloning is bone marrow, which makes blood. Actually, blood is the easiest organ to transplant and while there are some shortages from time to time it's nothing like the problems with kidneys and livers.

On average, the Singapore Blood bank only has stocks for up to 5 days. And that's for normal use. So, yes, its not as huge a problem as kidneys and livers but its still something I would wish to address as a problem.

[Broomstick]

Hm.

In the US, in times of disaster, we can usually get sufficient volunteers, but then we're working from a different resource base than Singapore. We get spot shortages, too, but in a pinch supplies could be flown in from elsewhere in the US.

What would be better than simply lab-grown blood would be a blood substitute that's stable at room temperature over the long term. Not only could that be used in routine surgery, but it would be of immense utility in disasters, war, and accidents.

[Kwizard]

What would be better than simply lab-grown blood would be a blood substitute that's stable at room temperature over the long term. Not only could that be used in routine surgery, but it would be of immense utility in disasters, war, and accidents.

So, some kind of a solution that can absorb oxygen and nutrients almost as well as blood? It does sound like a good temporary until real lab-grown blood is available, but administering the substitute in large enough quantities would literally water down the patient's immune system.

[TheBlackCat]

So, some kind of a solution that can absorb oxygen and nutrients almost as well as blood? It does sound like a good temporary until real lab-grown blood is available, but administering the substitute in large enough quantities would literally water down the patient's immune system.

Delivering oxygen isn't the only concern, removing carbon dioixide is also a huge issue. It has to be able to convert dissolved CO2 into carbonic acid since the presence of carbonic acid in your bloodstream is one of the main stimuli that tells your body you need to breathe (hence the problem with hyperventilating). The carbonic acid doesn't form naturally at a high enough rate, an enzyme in red blood cells is needed to carry out the conversion. There is also having to be able to form clots, if you are in a position where you need to deliver a large amount of blood the person is probably seriously injured.

One situation where these issues may not be a major concern but where a synthetic blood substitute may be very useful is in the case of severe carbon monoxide poisoning. CO binds to hemoglobin so tightly it renders it useless. However, it does not affect the transport of carbon dioxide. So an injectable, biocompatible chemical or solution that can transport oxygen until the hemoglobin can be freed up might prevent or at least lessen serious tissue and especially neurological damage from a lack of oxygen.

[Admiral Valdemar]

You have to remember, whole blood is a very complex fluid tissue, and O2 and CO2 exchange are just some of its objectives. Don't forget, any synthetic solution should also allow for antibodies and T and B-cells to prosper and fight disease with no problems. Without a proper humoral immune defence in this blood, you may as well call it quits. There's no real substitute that can give us all these things right now, or at least, perfectly.