According to the National Kidney Foundation, around 96,645 patients in the US are awaiting kidney transplants as a result of kidney failure. However, less than 17,000 kidney transplantations are carried out each year due to a shortage of donors. But a new option could soon be available - in the form of pig kidneys.
Researchers from the University of Florida are investigating the use of a pig kidney as a "scaffold" on which to build a human kidney by injecting it with human stem cells.
The investigators say the stem cells will "take over" the pig kidney, meaning it could be transplanted into humans.
They note that if the procedure proves successful, patients on kidney transplant lists could have their wait for a kidney reduced from years to months, meaning thousands of lives could be saved every year.
How human kidneys can be built using pig kidneys
The researchers say the first step of the process is to take skin cells from a patient suffering from kidney failure. These skin cells are then turned back to stem cells by adding certain chemicals and using specific growth techniques.
The pig kidney is then cleansed of all its cells through a process called decellularization. The investigators note that this process is crucial, and in order to avoid harming the organ structure or clearing away the chemical signals that cause differentiation of cells, it must be approached with care.
After this process, the pig kidney is almost translucent and becomes a "scaffold" in which human cells can grow.
Dr. Edward Ross, a nephrologist and professor of medicine at University of Florida Health, explains:
"The idea was to use a natural architecture, something we could never craft synthetically. The idea is if you put the human stem cells in, they will start to differentiate and remodel the scaffold."
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