Lab workers have grown a rat kidney and transplanted the working organ into a rat, discovering in the process that it made urine but was less effective than a traditional kidney, according to a report published in the journal, Nature.
The kidneys were made by taking the cells out of kidneys and replacing it with self-generating tissue. Researchers say that a persistent difficulty with transplanting fabricated organs is clotting—an issue that did not derail the present study.
"If you put the organs side by side, it would be hard to tell which is the bioengineered organ and which is the real organ," said Dr. Joren Madsen, director of the Mass. General Transplant Center.
"However," he added, "there are a couple problems that need to be solved before we can bring these to the clinic. The function of the organs . . . is modest at best."
Researchers add that there is a lot of work to do before the treatment will be effective for patients in need.
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