February 9th, 2004
To Save the Lives of Millions
Growing replacement organs via regenerative medicine and tissue engineering isn't easy, no matter how fast science seems to be advancing towards this goal. It will happen, but not by magic, and certainly not without a great deal of funding and hard work. This article from This Is Nottingham describes parts of the path from culturing cells to being able to grow an entire liver for transplant. Scientists are currently working on an intermediary steps, including a tissue matrix for liver cells, and more advanced options for artificial livers.