Creating the First Lab-Made Human Heart
24th March 2013
Using image scans, a glass mold, and stem cells, Dr. Francisco Fernandez-Aviles has nearly created a transplant-ready human nose. The Wall Street Journal reports that surgery could occur later this year, but first the nose must be removed from the patient’s arm, where Aviles is hoping that skin will graft to it. The procedure would be quite an accomplishment, but not as much as what he’s hoping to do next; working with Dr. Doris Taylor — who was able to grow rat hearts five years ago — Aviles intends to grow a working human heart. He believes that his lab may be transplanting heart parts in about 10 years, but first, he tells WSJ, “we need to make the heart come alive.”
We almost have the technology.