Sheep Heart Valve Created In Lab

April 19th, 2008

As we have already discussed, there is much interest in stem cells and heart valve replacements these days. Here’s an interesting report about heart valve tissue generation in sheep.

A Wake Forest University researcher has successfully created eighteen types of tissue, including a sheep heart valve, in his laboratory.

Dr. Anthony Atala, who is studying the science behind growing new organs, uses cells in a laboratory and an ink-jet printer for the purpose.

Sheep Heart Valve Made At Wake Forest Lab

“When people ask me ‘what do you do,’ we grow tissues and organs. We are making body parts that we can implant right back into patients,” the Environmental News Network quoted him as telling CBS.

He believes that soon researchers will start growing organs like human hearts in laboratories from a patient’s own cells, doing away with the need for organ donors.

Atala even hopes that the injection of stem cells will facilitate the healing of damaged organs internally, reducing the need for open-heart surgery and other invasive procedures.

Keep on tickin!

About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates clinical research with the personal experiences of 135 former patients to help future patients and their caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.