Spectrum | 26.11.2008 | 00:30
An Operation That Turned Theoretical Science Into Practical Medicine
Surgeons in Spain have carried out the world's first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant - using a windpipe made with the patient's own stem cells.
The groundbreaking technology means for the first time tissue transplants can be carried out without the need for anti-rejection drugs. Five months after the operation the patient, 30-year-old mother-of-two Claudia Castillo, is in perfect health. She needed the transplant to save a lung after contracting tuberculosis. Scientists from Bristol City in England helped grow the cells for the transplant and the European team believes such tailor-made organs could become the norm. Stephen Beard reports.
Share this article
