Comments
Follow Comments Sorted by time
darthsagacious
· 7 years ago
· FIRST
They are building a whole building right next to my lab to do this with lungs.
13
freault4
· 7 years ago
Tell us more about this!! Very cool
7
darthsagacious
· 7 years ago
Essentially, they take an organ from a mammal which doesn't necessarily have to be human, since the cells are going to be washed away with detergent. What's left is the extracellular matrix, which is a collection of mostly proteins that helps normal tissues maintain their structure and communication networks. Normal cells require contact with one another and a surface, which is provided by this ghost organ.
5
darthsagacious
· 7 years ago
The cells are induced pluripotent stem cells, which are regular cells that have been chemically transformed back into pluripotent stem cells and they are seeded onto the matrix. These stem cells are derived from the host, therefore they are recognized as the host cells. The stem cells grow along the matrix and fill in the organ normally, somewhat like the organ develops in a fetus. The amount of time this process takes is variable, depending on the tissues required to make up the organ, etc. Obviously the cells require a nutrient supply, gas exchange mechanism, waste disposal, etc as they grow. Once complete, the organ is surgically implanted.
4
maddashforpie
· 7 years ago
That's super cool
5
mialinay
· 7 years ago
Why does it remind me of sushi? D:
chubbee
· 7 years ago
You still need a donated organ to start with
3
somespanishguy
· 7 years ago
But it is better because then they can put the organ and have less probability of the body rejecting it
8
creativedragonbaby
· 7 years ago
People can already grow organs, so why not get someone else's organs and decellulize it?
matthewg
· 7 years ago
@kakaburra Mmmm...I'd be more than happy to donate to you MY "ghost organ". ;)
▼