A fully functional organ has been grown from scratch in a living animal for the first time, in an advance that could revolutionise the treatment of transplant patients.
Scientists grew a working thymus, the organ that generates the body’s supply of immune cells, within the bodies of mice. The organ was seeded from a blob of cells, raising the prospect of “off-the-shelf” replacement organs.
Clare Blackburn, who led the work at the University of Edinburgh, said: “The ability to grow replacement organs from cells in the lab is one of the ‘holy grails’ in regenerative medicine.”
The thymus is located near the heart and produces T-cells, which protect the body from disease. About one in 4,000 babies each year is born with an impaired or