Scientists take first big steps in growing working livers

[babylonsister]

Scientists take first steps in growing working livers

Sunday, 13 June 2010 21:19 UK


US scientists have created working liver grafts in the lab, and say the research could one day allow the growth of livers for transplant.

There is a shortage of liver donors, but so far it has been difficult to grow replacement organs.

In the work, published in Nature Medicine, a team from Massachusetts General Hospital, created successful grafts using rat cells.

A UK expert said it was "a big step in the right direction".

In the study, scientists initially flushed out living liver cells, leaving behind a tissue "scaffold".

They then introduced one type of liver cells called hepatocytes which successfully repopulated the scaffold.

When these were transplanted into rats, alongside their normal livers, they functioned normally for short periods.

more...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10293842.stm

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Wow! Yes, it will be such a good thing when they can make replacement organs.

[intheflow]

2. Cool! Have another drink on me!

:-/


Seriously: good news for people who have liver damage from accidents or genetic disposition, but you know the most people that will benefit from this will be rich people who have drunk themselves into needing a new liver, since they're the only ones who will be able to afford the surgery.

[babylonsister]

4. There's that, but I also think there might be people

who have liver disease because maybe they inherited it? Or liver cancer because they were unlucky?

I don't know what the odds are, but I've heard of people who get lung cancer who never smoked, so I'm not so ready to blame it on a lifestyle.

[intheflow]

5. that's why I put in the caveat about good news for

people with genetic disorders (or however I phrased it in my post last night). I know there are a whole host of legitimate liver problems, and only going to get worse due to environmental poisonings. I was really just making a point about the accessibility and affordability of healthcare. I mean, if you live on the Gulf Coast and the oil seeps into your water supply, but you've lost your tourist/fishing livelihood (not that you ever had insurance in those jobs anyway), and the oil damages your liver, will you be able to get a newly grown new liver? Would BP pay for that? Would our government? Meanwhile, I'm sure Tony Hayward is mixing himself some strong cocktails these days, and should his liver go, I'm sure his BP exec insurance would cover the transplant.

Kind of an academic argument at this point anyway, since this is just a first step in possibly growing livers someday, but I'm just sayin'... the way the world is now this is good newsfor the haves and just kind of interesting trivia for the have nots.

[jgraz]

3. Now if they could just grow some bacon and onions...

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