Grow Your Own Replacement Parts

Researchers Believe Regenerative Medicine Could Help Thousands In Need Of Transplants

(CBS)  About 98,000 people are on a waiting list for transplants right now. Many of them will die before they get one. Now, a new generation of researchers is changing that, one cell at a time. This is the first in a two-part CBS News series on the innovative field of regenerative medicine. Scroll to the end for more information.

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In what you might call the laboratory of the future, Dr Anthony Atala is manufacturing body parts.

"Here you see an engineered blood vessel," he said. "You can actually see the vessel beating."

From blood vessels to muscle tissue, Atala and his team at Wake Forest University believe that in theory anything inside the body can be grown outside the body, CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports. And it's real: They've made 18 different types of tissue so far.

"That's a heart valve?" Andrews asked.

Atala said: "This is an engineered heart valve."

What he pointed to was a pulsing heart valve to be transplanted into a sheep.

"When people ask me 'what do you do,' we grow tissues and organs," he said. "We are making body parts that we can implant right back into patients."

Once considered a Frankenstein fantasy, the field of regenerative medicine is on the verge of unimagined breakthroughs. Scientists believe every part of the body has cells capable of regeneration - all researchers need to do is isolate those cells and coax them to grow.

And they use heart cells in an ink jet printer.

In the lab CBS News toured, the heart of a mouse was being made - a heart they grew layer by layer, by spraying the cells with a printer.

"So your heart cell is programmed to make more heart tissue, your bladder cells are programmed to make more bladder cells," Atala explained.

And it's Atala's work with human bladders that's truly on the frontier. In a clinical trial at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, a patient got a bladder transplant - with a new bladder grown from her own cells.

Using Atala's regeneration techniques, her bladder cells were isolated, multiplied and seeded onto a biodegradable scaffold. Eight weeks later, her new bladder is in the operating room ready for transplant.

Dr. Patrick Shenot is her transplant surgeon.

"Its very much the future, but its today," Shenot said. "We are doing this today."

What's coming from this technology is a future of highly personal, mail-order medicine, where in order to cure your disease, your doctor will order you a replacement organ or body part and it will be custom made for you, using your own cells.

For the tens of thousands of patients who need organ transplants, this technology brings hope.

Hugh Snyder needs a bladder. And it could be a bladder from his own cells.

"Yeah. I would never have thought this ... possible," Snyder said.

Corporate America already sees what's possible. The Tengion Company has bought the license, built the factory, and is already making the bladders developed at Wake Forest.

"We're actually building a very real business around a very real and compelling patient need," said Dr. Steven Nichtberger, Tengion's CEO.

He says the company also plans to mass-produce blood vessels and kidneys.

"In regenerative medicine, I think it is similar to the semiconductor industry of the 1980s," Nichtberger said. "You don't know where its going to go, but you know its big."

This brand-new kind of medicine and this brand-new industry are set to change the landscape for transplanting organs.

Patients in the future, instead of waiting years for a donated organ, will wait a few weeks and … grow their own.

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For more on regenerative medicine and organ transplants, check out:

The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The non-profit United Network for Organ Sharing.

The non-profit Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

The non-profit organ and tissue donation group, Gift Of Life Organ Donation.

Wake Forest University.

Tengion Company.

[j-whitman]

This is good news,,,, Republicans can finally grow new brains instead of using the ones in the jars marked -- ABNORMAL DO NOT USE

[mike71067]

Bill Clinton has already grown a replacement brain. It''s located in his pants.

[shanev137]

Welcome to Gattaca.

[j-whitman]

hamiltongrad ,,,, Carter can win a Nobel Prize,,,, Bush can''t even get a stuffed animal out of a claw machine.

[closethippy1]

Great stuff, truly, great stuff. But I wonder, um, can this new science help me make me, you know, bigger.
Not that I have a problem there at all, I''m just wondering.....

[Wookiee-1138]

It''s like i the Arm of the Starfish /i .

[ssm9451]

Now maybe the straw man in the White House can have a brain and a heart.

[j-whitman]

hamiltongrad ,,,, I know you think Bush is the greatest thing since mayonnaise, but no matter how much you try, you can''t shine a cow patty

[joyous88]

just wait the christians will be up in "arms"about this!

[iceman_1960]

Perhaps mbcsmith can grow his own brain.


Or perhaps not...

[j-whitman]

Rick,,, It goes against my grain, how about yours ?? ---- It''s not the worst of it, now they''ve made an embryo from I think it was from 1 woman & 2 men ------- That stuff feaks me out & we shouldn''t be *** around with Mother Nature..

[kennergirl]

I think its great that this is happening since organ donation lags so far behind the need. Not to mention all the problems with people getting organs that the body rejects. It would truly be a godsend for anyone waiting on a donor list somewhere. What I would be curious to know is what insurance companies are going to think about this. You know they end up determining if you get treatment or not.

[tbweb]

This is a historic achievement! Amazing. Doctors continue to be the closest thing to God.

[j-whitman]

Rick,,,,, I think you are totally out to lunch on your interpretation of their book..
.. Muslems here around Sacrametno get along real well with Christians & Jews, real well.... & they are just as dedicated to their Koran as you are to your Bible.

[j-whitman]

Another thing that totally freaks me out is this body parts business,,,,, Here you are on your death bed & people are standing around waiting like vultures & who pays for it ??? You do

[j-whitman]

Rick,,,, Good, we are making a little progress here... Radical militant fundamentalists aren''t only in Islam.... It existst in all religions including Christanity.

I was reading an article on Condi Rice''s views of Isreal & Palestine & I was suprised to read she sympathizes with the Palestinians -- She sees it as the days before Civil Rights in Alabama

[j-whitman]

Rick,,,, It seems Rice is closer to Jimmy Carter on Isrea/Palestine than she is to Bush.

[j-whitman]

Rick,,, Google IDF & see how many Christians want to send their kids to join the IDF ---- You''d think they would encourage them to join our own military... It kind of shows where their loyalty to our own country is.

[j-whitman]

Rick,,,, Again I will reference all the family planning clinic bombings, anthrax mailings & Jesus Camp,,,,,, They are just as violent, even Hindu''s are. It was a Hindu fundamentalist that shot Ghandi.

[joe7pack]

I bet if they used a high speed color laser
printer they could create a whole new you in seconds. But that would be a scary thought.

[denn034]

This sounds good transplants wise.

[dentrak]

Hopefully this is just a begining. God gave us the intelligence to get this far, Why should we stop. I believe we should also be useing stem cells in research. We need to get away from the religiuos nuts trying to run everyone''s life. They need to understand they are a support for the weak of mind. I see no difference betwwen the islamic extremists and the christian coalition. religion is the reason we are in an illegal war. not because of weapon''s of mass destruction

[j-whitman]

Actually it was carbon that gave us life & intellegence derived from that.

[ioweign]

Grow Your Own Replacement Parts


The shrub and photosynthesis in a hot house.

[ne_patriot7]

Best part is, since the new organ is made from your own cells, there should be no need to take very expensive medications to prevent rejection..

[incog-nito]

Can I grow an extra arm or two to get things done faster? I''m a very busy person, you know.

[blackyowe]

Amazing and hopeful story, Bravo! Please make it a headline and drop the coverage of Brittany Spears?

[searingtruth]

A Grand Challenge (part 2 of 2)

Yes indeed, I have a new plan, for all of you. A plan of hope. A plan of adventure. A plan of such extraordinary magnitude as to take the breath, and challenge the senses, of all who would consider it. A plan to bind our common people in hope, and finally free our conscience for noble purpose.

I propose that in the next three decades we at last end the scourge of human disease upon this earth, and begin the inevitable adventure of humanity%u2019s migration beyond it.

We shall at last unlock the fundamental secrets of our biology so we may conquer any illness or defect at will, and we shall free ourselves from the bonds of our native home so we may evade global calamities, and begin the expansion of our species beyond this world.

No longer shall our survival be dependent upon the random and dispassionate forces of nature. No longer shall we quiver in anguish as we helplessly watch those we love suffer and die in agony from an endless list of human disease and dysfunction. No longer shall our globe be divided in constant turmoil and conflict while the hammer of fate hangs precariously balanced over all we know and love.

We shall at last take control of our future, our fate, and ourselves.

No other endeavor ever attempted by humankind will require more genius, dedication, compassion, and sacrifice.

And no other endeavor ever attempted by humankind will be more vital to the continued existence of our species.

www.searingtruth.com

[searingtruth]

A Grand Challenge (part 1 of 2)

My friends, the simple truth is that we are wasting our precious time, resources, intellect, and passion. As a species we are just as aimless today as when our primitive ancestors first ventured out upon this earth.

Today I am proposing that for the first time in human history, we change that.

Radically.

More than any time in history, humanity needs a grand challenge. Not only to avert its extinction, but also to indelibly etch the common bond of mutual reliance and cooperation on current and future generations.

Fortunately, all of the forces that now seem to conspire against us can quickly be turned to our advantage.

For the first time in human history we actually possess technologies so advanced that any physical problem can potentially be solved.

And yet, I wonder, do we possess the will and wisdom to utilize them for our salvation instead of our destruction?

I propose that we find out.

So today I offer you a radical and stark choice between two future realities.

An aimless future of continued war and conflict, with all its accompanying suffering and death; or a limitless future dedicated to defeating suffering and death itself, with all its accompanying technological advancement and social evolution.

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[iceman_1960]

Does this mean I can grow my own ...

Never mind.

[iceman_1960]

"The Tengion Company has bought the license, built the factory, and is already making the bladders developed at Wake Forest."

A factory for spare body parts. Cool.

What would they say if you called them up and told them you needed another hand for bridge ?

[iceman_1960]

"My friends, the simple truth is that we are wasting our precious time, resources, intellect, and passion."

Speak for yourself, ST.

There"s nothing precious about mine.

[searingtruth]

Critical Focus

Fortunately, there is a curious and wonderful fact about humanity.

Whenever we come together to focus on and solve some seemingly insurmountable problem, we are successful.

From initially learning to navigate vast oceans, to understanding and curing disease, to placing humans on the moon and exploring the solar system beyond, our species record of technical achievement is truly stunning.

In fact, history clearly records that our progress as a species is not impeded by our inability to solve critical problems; it is instead impeded by our inability to recognize and focus on them.

We have survived thus far not by elegant planning, but simply because of our once isolated population groups, the relatively low level of past technologies, and sheer dumb luck.

However, time has turned, and we cannot go back. Populations have become almost completely integrated, our technology has progressed to fantastic and globally lethal levels, and sooner or later our sheer dumb luck will run out.

Without direction, without a plan, without common goals and purpose, our species, and our world, will fail.

All our history, all our dreams, all our knowledge, our anguish, our joy, our victories, our defeats, all of our passion, everything that was human, gone forever. As if it had never existed in time at all. ...


Excerpt from A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[searingtruth]

"What has the Chrsitian coalition done to you den??"
singinrick


Well, the Christian militia fanatic Timothy McVeigh blew up the Murrow Federal Building with hundreds of innocent Americans, including children, in it.

And Christians in Utah have always had a whole swath of pedophile protected territory where even the police track down and bring daughters back to their fathers and uncles who are raping them, and trading them as sexual slaves.

And they consume one of the most deadly drugs known to humankind, alcohol, while imprisoning those who ingest drugs equally or less destructive to life in prison.

And they preemptively attack other countries in the name of peace.

And they demand that the name of their God be present on our money, and our most hollowed halls of justice.

And they enshrine all their prejudicial beliefs, including those against homosexuals, in law.

Just like any religious fanatics in any other theocratic state.
ST


"Their inhumanity was confirmed by their ignorance of humanity itself."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[iceman_1960]

singinrick,

Please stop misquoting George Washington.

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." - Misattributed to George Washington

"Washington is known to have made some official statements of public piety, but this is not one of them. Though this assertion is very widely reported to have been said in Washington''s Farewell Address (17 September 1796), this is not actually the case, as any search of the documents would reveal."

Source:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Washington

[ioweign]

What would they say if you called them up and told them you needed another hand for bridge ?

Posted by Iceman_1960 at 05:36 AM : Feb 07, 2008

Hope trumps !

[searingtruth]

A Grand Challenge (part 2 of 2)

Yes indeed, I have a new plan, for all of you. A plan of hope. A plan of adventure. A plan of such extraordinary magnitude as to take the breath, and challenge the senses, of all who would consider it. A plan to bind our common people in hope, and finally free our conscience for noble purpose.

I propose that in the next three decades we at last end the scourge of human disease upon this earth, and begin the inevitable adventure of humanity%u2019s migration beyond it.

We shall at last unlock the fundamental secrets of our biology so we may conquer any illness or defect at will, and we shall free ourselves from the bonds of our native home so we may evade global calamities, and begin the expansion of our species beyond this world.

No longer shall our survival be dependent upon the random and dispassionate forces of nature. No longer shall we quiver in anguish as we helplessly watch those we love suffer and die in agony from an endless list of human disease and dysfunction. No longer shall our globe be divided in constant turmoil and conflict while the hammer of fate hangs precariously balanced over all we know and love.

We shall at last take control of our future, our fate, and ourselves.

No other endeavor ever attempted by humankind will require more genius, dedication, compassion, and sacrifice.

And no other endeavor ever attempted by humankind will be more vital to the continued existence of our species.

www.searingtruth.com

[searingtruth]

A Grand Challenge (part 1of 2)

My friends, the simple truth is that we are wasting our precious time, resources, intellect, and passion. As a species we are just as aimless today as when our primitive ancestors first ventured out upon this earth.

Today I am proposing that for the first time in human history, we change that.

Radically.

More than any time in history, humanity needs a grand challenge. Not only to avert its extinction, but also to indelibly etch the common bond of mutual reliance and cooperation on current and future generations.
Fortunately, all of the forces that now seem to conspire against us can quickly be turned to our advantage.

For the first time in human history we actually possess technologies so advanced that any physical problem can potentially be solved.

And yet, I wonder, do we possess the will and wisdom to utilize them for our salvation instead of our destruction?

I propose that we find out.

So today I offer you a radical and stark choice between two future realities.

An aimless future of continued war and conflict, with all its accompanying suffering and death; or a limitless future dedicated to defeating suffering and death itself, with all its accompanying technological advancement and social evolution.


Excerpt from A Future of the Brave %u2013 www.searingtruth.com

[azcagirl]

I really enjoy all of your comments SearingTruth.

[lochlan-2009]

This has been coming fo a while. The question I have is what are they doing about the geneticaly abnormal cells that cause some of these problems in the first place? Are they also going in and modifying the genes before reproducing them?

The most drastic evolution in the history of the world is at our fingertips. Exciting and scary, and it all depends on the morals and ethics of who is in charge. It scares me to death to see we are at this level of technology and the most powerful government in the world has just been hijacked by the greediest, most unethical bunch of crooks this country has ever seen. I guess we''ll see how long the majority keep their head in the sand.

[searingtruth]

"I really enjoy all of your comments SearingTruth."
azcagirl


Thank you fellow patriot.
ST


"Nothing is certain, except that humanity is good."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[iceman_1960]

"I am jason, a handsome man from us. i am just at the beginning of my career and want to seek a rich women for support, maybe to be my Sugar Momma..."
- Posted by robert20076 at 08:49 AM : Feb 07, 2008

Good morning, Officer.

Be careful out there.

[searingtruth]

Good night fellow patriots.
ST


"Our times are indeed dire, and foretold, and unfortunately there is little we can do to forestall the immediate crisis that confronts us.

However, we find ourselves at this moment in history for very simple reasons.

As I have said before, I am not religious. And yet I have found justice, compassion, and wisdom in the thoughts and writings of many historical religious, philosophical, and political figures.

And one of the saddest realities we face today is that so many of these wise men and women have already delivered most all the answers we seek.

Peace. Justice. Humility. Compassion. The willingness to stand for good when all others stand against it.

These are not new answers my friends, but amongst the oldest recorded. And when we abandon our most precious treasures of wisdom, we will suffer their warning.

But hope can never be lost. And there are times when suffering gives way to new understanding, and new opportunities to right the wrongs of the past, and boldly forge a more just and prosperous future for all.

I cannot help but hope that this is one of those times.

May goodness bless our great nation."
SearingTruth

[rushman71]

Well, this may be a little light at the end of the tunnel for me. I have been half-blind on the right side of both of my eyes for the past 22 1/2 years due to a massive hemorrhage on the left side of my brain which cut the optical nerves. If these nerves can be repaired, then I am all for it.

[antoniof123]

Cool!!!

[b-easy63]

Most cancers occur at the cellular level. So to use a person''s own cells to propagate new tissue, may be to just replaced diseased organs with ...diseased organs.

[mrmazerati]

Awesome!

[goldberg1980]

I know this will seem shallow, but if they can enlarge a *** with this technology, they will become a mega multi trillion dollar company. It would far surprise the excitement of Viagra. Not only would women have erect husbands, but they would also have well endowed erect husbands, which are a substantial difference, regardless to what women say in public. The divorce rate would plummet. I know it is sad, but the fact of the matter is a lot of male insecurity stems from this issue. I hate to make such a positive and substantial scientific breakthrough about vanity, but that is just where we are at as a society right now. If there is a man that would not honestly take advantage of this, or a wife that would not secretly wish it for their husband, more power to them, as for the rest of us, I hope someone can recognize the potential for the largest profits this world has ever know by reaching that *** enlargement capability before I%u2019m dead and gone.

[bigredd551]

This is a big accomplishment. There are little kids and adults that have lost or never had an arm, leg, or something to that matter. I, myself, have a heart valve problem and is have to going to be replaced later on. Looking at this made me think ''Wow, me and a whole lot of others could use this to maybe make us not to have surgery when we get older. I would rather hope that it would help me to not have surgery. but the point of the matter is, we can grow back something we never had or lost, that makes me feel that there is someone out there, trying to help all of us these days.

[yadayada821]

To the attention of Tengion Company; In 2000 my Mitral Valve blew out.I had used phen-fen.It was replaced with a prosthetic one. I also have a pace maker.I''ve had several sternum revisions since it will not heal. I suffered from chronic a-fib since open heart. In 9/2007 I had 16 ablations to the R atrium. Looks like my top two chambers are very scarred and have beaten themselves to death!I now rely on only one medication that I tolerate, Sotalol, and I''m told when it stops working the jig is up!Could I be a receipient of a heart grown from my own DNA? How soon will these be used? Is it FDA approved yet? I feel this is soon to become a very urgent issue for me. Doctors feel I''m probably full of scar tissue from the sternum revisions and the one open heart surgery. Is there help out there for me? I''m looking for hope.

Sincerely, Barbara