Banks Of Off-The-Shelf Body Parts Could Be Created

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Jul 19, 2010, 8:37:24 PM7/19/10

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Banks Of Off-The-Shelf Body Parts Could Be Created
Scientists are perfecting ways of creating bare 'scaffold' building blocks of body parts which can then be used as a frame for a patient's own cells to grow around. The technique involves taking a piece of dead donor or animal body part and removing all the soft tissue so just the bare structure is left. Stem cells from the patient can then be placed on the frame and will regrow into a new body part for them. The technique has already been successful in creating a new section of windpipe for patients who have suffered injury or disease and it is hoped it can be used for a wider set of organs. Experts said the scaffold for the most commonly used parts could be created in advance and stored ready for use when needed. Prof John Fisher from The University of Leeds spoke at a stem cell conference of the potential to create banks of scaffolds of all kinds of body tissue so surgeons can then finish them off with a covering of tissue grown from the patient before they are implanted. He told the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Nottingham of work he and his colleague Prof Eileen Ingham have been working on to create the scaffolds from dead donors or animals. So far, patches to cover a hole or weakening in a blood vessel, knee cartilage and tendons have been created.