Australian researchers have successfully cultivated heart tissue in the laboratory, marking the world’s first breakthrough that could lead to the creation of entire human organs.
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Professor Wayne Morrison. (Photo: headandneck) |
The team of scientists and surgeons stated that their project aims to cultivate organs, including parts of the heart, using the patients’ own stem cells to prevent immune rejection during future transplants.
So far, scientists have only managed to create two-dimensional tissues, such as skin, in laboratory settings. However, Wayne Morrison, the head of the research team, mentioned that his group has successfully cultivated three-dimensional tissues that may one day lead to the creation of entire organs.
“This breakthrough in tissue production will bring new hope and reliability for millions of people in Australia and around the world,” he said.
The research team employed micro-surgery techniques to implant a blood vessel into a specially designed chamber, where they subsequently cultured stem cells and allowed them to develop into various types of tissues.
Scientists from the Bernard O’Brien Institute of Micro-Surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne and the University of Melbourne’s Department of Surgery have used similar techniques to successfully cultivate breast tissue, fat, muscle tissue, and insulin-producing pancreatic tissue.
Morrison released a video showing the heart tissue that the team created beating. “The heart cells are truly beating in their own rhythm,” he remarked.
T. An
