Scientists have developed a bioreactor that can survive inside a pig that is designed to mimic some of the vital functions of a kidney.
, designed to mimic some of the vital functions of a kidney, that can survive inside a pig for at least a week., the team placed human kidney cells in an implantable "proof-of-concept" device. Seven days after being implanted in a pig, the cells inside the bioreactor maintained over 90 percent of their "viability and functionality," according to the paper.
The research is a small — albeit intriguing — step, demonstrating that a host's body won't necessarily reject the bionic organ. More work is needed before we can say for certain whether such a bioreactor could replace a failing human kidney, but for patients with kidney disease who currently rely on expensive and inconvenient treatments like dialysis, the prospect is tantalizing.
Instead of replacing the kidney outright, the researchers are hoping to build what amounts to an implantable dialysis machine that can keep people alive following kidney failure. Conventional dialysis machines are large, complex machines that are less-than-stellar replacements for a kidney transplant, so the hope is that a sealed gadget housing real kidney cells could one day be a happy medium between the two.
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