Earlier we reported here at the hub that growing tissue and organs is not a science fiction story about the future, but instead is a technology that exists today. A company called Tengion is at the forefront of this emerging field of growing custom organs. Tengion is essentially a corporate vehicle for the commercial development of the major breakthroughs that have been made at the leading institutions in the field of organ and tissue regeneration. Most notably Tengion has rights to develop the research of Dr. Anthony Atala from Wake Forest where the most stunning results in the field of regenerative medicine have been achieved to date. Anthony Atala’s lab has grown a whole host of human organs including bladders, blood vessels, and heart valves.
Tengion does not have a commercially available product yet, but they have a serious arsenal of technology and patents and they are focused on bringing a long list of custom grown organs to the market. Tengion’s lead product candidate is a custom grown bladder called the Neo-Bladder which is currently in phase II clinical trials. Since Tengion’s organs are grown from the patient’s own cells these organs are not rejected by the body’s immune system, a common and serious problem for the typical organ transplant from a foreign donor. Below is a video of Anthony Atala giving an inside look at his lab which is simply amazing (although the reporter clearly doesn’t know a thing about science):
Eye To Eye: Tissue Engineering (CBS News)
Tags: grow organ, regenerative medicine, tengion
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Thanks for putting this up. I am still amazed by what doesn’t get on the front pages of the major media outlets (and, of course, what does).
[...] is still a rare achievement. We recently reported on the progress being made at a company called Tengion and also in the lab of Anthony Atala at Wake [...]
[...] many of our readers know, The Hub is extremely excited about the work going on at Dr. Anthony Atala’s Lab (pictured left) at Wake Forest, where real organs, such as [...]
[...] setting has increased by leaps and bounds in recent years. Soon, you’ll even be able to custom-order an organ from the company Tengion. At some point in the near future, growing a new hand might be a real [...]
I just want to start by saying this is an awesome idea i seen it on TV and was blown away by the idea of growing new organs.I am 29yrs old I have had diabetes since I was 12yrs old that is 17yrs of checking my sugar level 4 times a day by pricking my fingers / now i can prick my arms for blood which is a little bit less painful. I also take an insulin shot with every meal and a long acting insulin shot once a day. That is usually 4 to 5 insulin shots every day. The reason for all of this is that my pancreas does not work at all. It stopped working when I was 12yrs old and my life has really sucked ever since.If I could get a new pancreas with out all the worries of rejection and could go on to live a normal life that wasn’t full of pricking to check my sugar levels and insulin shots that would really be amazing.It would be like a brand new life to me.Keep up the research it sounds like a great idea. I would love to let you grow a pancreas for me.
[...] only name in the game. There are many other institutions trying to achieve the same goal (including Tengion whom we’ve mentioned before). There are differences in the way each company creates a scaffold for cells so that they hold [...]