'Holy grail' of organs grown in labs can end transplants

Scientists at Edinburgh University have for the first time been able to build a complete and functional organ in a living animal using cells created in a laboratory.

The breakthrough has been described as an important first step in developing a substitute for organ transplants which could eventually overcome problems with donor supplies and the use of immunosuppressive therapy.

Professor Clare Blackburn, from the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University, who led the team of scientists, said: "The ability to grow replacement organs from cells in the lab is one of the 'holy grails' in regenerative medicine.

"But the size and complexity of lab-grown organs has so far been limited.

"By directly reprogramming cells we've managed to produce an artificial cell type that, when transplanted, can form a fully organised and functional organ."

The technique, which produces a thymus, a vital immune system "nerve centre", has so far only been tested on mice.

It may be another 10 years before the treatment is proven to be effective and safe enough for human patients.

However, Professor Blackburn said: "This is an important first step towards the goal of generating a clinically useful artificial thymus in the lab."

The research is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

It reports that, while fragments of organs, including hearts, livers and even brains, have been grown from stem cells, no-one before has succeeded in producing a fully intact organ from cells created outside the body.

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'Holy grail' of organs grown in labs can end transplants