CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Local researchers have made a discovery that could one day help save lives in a whole new way.
For years, scientists have been working in what's called organoid science. That means they use cells to grow human organs. They've made progress so far in individual organs, such as the intestines or the liver, but now organs may be able to be grown together.
A team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital announced Wednesday that this could change the future of organ donation. What they have done is used cells to grow connected, functioning sets of a mini human liver, pancreas and biliary ducts, which helps these organs work.
That potentially means they could grow these in humans who need these organs when they don't work anymore and have them work together in the body.
The hope now is they can study how these function better together, what medications work to interrupt a problem and potentially how they could help humans in need of organs in the future.
source
