Lab-Engineered Kidney Works in Animals

Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff Writer

Date: 15 April 2013 Time: 09:25 AM ET

Researchers have created a working kidney that's able to produce urine when transplanted into a rat, according to a new study.

The bioengineered kidney wasn't entirely built from scratch — rather, the new organ was built around an existing kidney "scaffold."

While much more work is needed to see if the same technology could be used to engineer human kidneys, the researchers hope that eventually, such a method could be an option for those who havekidney failure, and need a new kidney.  

"If this technology can be scaled to human-sized grafts, patients suffering from renal failure who are currently waiting for donor kidneys, or who are not transplant candidates, could theoretically receive new organs derived from their own cells," said study researcher Dr. Harald Ott, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine. Building kidneys using this technique could the risk that the organ would be rejected, he said.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/28709-bioengineered-kidney-works-in-rats.html