CloningResources.com - Cloning and Regenerative Medicine News

Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering are the future of organ, tissue and bone transplants, if medical science can pull it off. Several research facilities and hospitals around the world are conducting research including the cloning of the heart, liver, lungs, pancreas, bladder, teeth, bones, ligaments, cartilage, and just about every part of the human body.

The Need

In the US alone, 98,858 people are waiting for one or more organs to be transplanted. Last year only 28,108 actually occured. The organ shortage is only part of the problem though, as even if you get an organ, 30% to 50% of the transplant recipients have organ rejection within 5 years. Growing new organs using a healthy piece of the patients damaged organ should eliminate organ rejection.

Methods

Several methods are being explored, but the predominant method, and the one that seems to be gleaning the most press lately is the use of a biodegradable scaffolds that the organ or tissue can safely grow on. The scaffolds provide support for the growing tissue, and can even "feed" the organ vital nutrients it needs to grow. The problem here is that it could take weeks or months to grow an organ or tissue, time that patients may not have.

Another method, and the one that causes the greatest concern is xenogeneic tissue engineering, which means tissues grown in a host animal such as a cow or pig. The big problem here is that scientists can't be sure if this may allow diseases to be transmitted from donor to recipient, and may still have rejection problems. The value here though, is that organs could be grown in mass, and harvested only when needed.

Cloning of a bladder has already been accomplished on a small scale basis as reported by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The cloned bladder's were transplanted into several patients over a 7 year period. Read more about Laboratory-Grown Organs on our research page.

Bad Rap

Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering are still new sciences. Doctors and scientists got together for the first meeting of the Tissue Engineering Society (TES) in late 1994. Since then only a handful of researchers have developed usable processes for growing and transplanting tissues and organs. Some of which are only moderately useful.

Medical companies in general are doing well right now, and bioengineering companies specifically are doing quite well. Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering have staggered though, several going out of business before they could acheive any real goals. Part of this is due to the fear associated with cloning, and the bad press it has occasionally drawn. Several countries have strict rules governing how research can be conducted. In the US, several laws restrict goverment spending on cloning techniques that researchers believe are vital to the industry.

Because of the bad press, and lack of government support, venture capitalist have also been leery of investing in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering companies. Some companies however, those that have stayed under the radar, and have developed unique funding solutions are about to make a come back.

Patents Pending

Several notable doctors and researchers in the Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering industry have been applying for patents on methods to grow several different tissues and at least 2 organs. Though most won't comment on whether they have successfully transplanted anything yet, getting there ducks in a row may be indicators of things to come.