Kidneys lab-grown from stem cells function successfully in animals

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Scientists say they are a step closer to growing fully functioning replacement kidneys, after promising results in animals.

When transplanted into pigs and rats, the kidneys worked, passing urine just like natural ones.

Getting the urine out has been a problem for earlier prototypes, causing them to balloon under the pressure.

The Japanese team got round this by growing extra plumbing for the kidney to stop the backlog, PNAS reports.

Although still years off human trials, the research helps guide the way towards the end goal of making organs for people, say experts.

In the UK, more than 6,000 people are waiting for a kidney – but because of a shortage of donors, fewer than 3,000 transplants are carried out each year.

More than 350 people die a year, almost one a day, waiting for a transplant.

Lab-grown kidneys using human stem cells could solve this problem.

Dr Takashi Yokoo and colleagues at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo used a stem cell method, but instead of just growing a kidney for the host animal, they set about growing a drainage tube too, along with a bladder to collect and store the urine.

Read full, original post: Lab-grown kidneys work in animals

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