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What is a Neo-Organ?
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The word neo-organ comes from the greek word "neos," which means new. These two words together represent an advancement in medicine and technology. Organ transplants have been successfully used for medical purposes since 1954[1]. The difficulty with the traditional process of organ transplants is that it requires waiting for a viable donor to donate an organ. The process of matching the organ to make sure it is compatible with the patient has also proven to be challenging in terms of finding the right candidate for the patient and avoiding the patient rejecting the organ even if it is a match. For years, scientists have been trying to invent ways in which organs can be given to patients without having to wait for a donation and a match. Neo-organs are an innovative way to create organs for patients and avoid the process of organ matching and donating.
Neo-Organ Creation Methods
editThere are different ways that researchers are choosing to create neo-organs:
Adult Stem Cells
editOne of the most popular methods is to use the patients own cells to generate a new organ[2]. This can be done ex-vivo, or out of the body. Specifically, researchers have chosen to focus on adult stem cells, or somatic stem cells, for the generation of new organ cells to create organs. There has been success in the production and use of these organs. The first stem-cell based organ, a tracheal graft, was transplanted successfully in 2008[3]. While this was not an entire organ created from stem cells, and it still required a donor who provided a "decellularized tracheal graft," the implications from this procedure were endless[3]. This surgery was very successful and the patient has shown no signs of rejection. The reason this procedure is groundbreaking is because there is a current debate about whether the decellularized graft was only used to provide the shape of the organ, or whether it provided benefits from it being a donor graft. While there is no way of knowing the answer in this specific procedure, future studies can provide more insight on whether it will be possible to fully use stem-cells without a donor to create neo-organs.
Decellularization
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Researchers have begun to focus on this method of decellularization since it reduces the chance of rejection to almost none[4]. This process is the same one that was used in the first successful stem-cell based organ transplant. This method is especially useful when trying to create a neo-heart because the heart needs to be created in a way where the structure remains[4]. Since the stem cells used are currently not able to maintain a shape, researchers have started to look more into decellularization of existing organs to be able to perform successful transplant procedures without the problem of rejection[4]. While this method may appear to solve one problem, it does not focus on the issue that is still present: donors are still needed to provide this structure to patients.
3-D Bioprinting
editThe process of creating a 3-D organ with just stem cells is thought by some researches to not be possible without the structural support of a donor organ[4]. However, new studies have come out that discuss and conduct research on the process of 3-D bioprinting organs. While this does not use the patients own cells, it provides the structural support of a decellularized organ, without needing a donor and without having to go through the process of completely removing cells from an organ.
References
edit- ^ "The history of organ donation and transplantation". UNOS. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ Bertram, Timothy A (2008-03). "Regulation, Production, and Distribution of Neo‐organs". The FASEB Journal. 22 (S1). doi:10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.389.4. ISSN 0892-6638.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ a b Hollander, Anthony; Macchiarini, Paolo; Gordijn, Bert; Birchall, Martin (2009-03). "The first stem cell-based tissue-engineered organ replacement: implications for regenerative medicine and society". Regenerative Medicine. 4 (2): 147–148. doi:10.2217/17460751.4.2.147. ISSN 1746-0751.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d Tapias, Luis F.; Ott, Harald C. (2014-04). "Decellularized scaffolds as a platform for bioengineered organs". Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation. 19 (2): 145–152. doi:10.1097/mot.0000000000000051. ISSN 1087-2418.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)