British scientists have created human kidneys from stem cells in a breakthrough which could result in transplant patients growing their own organs. The artificial organs were created in a laboratory using human amniotic fluid and animal foetal cells.
They are currently half a centimetre in length - the same size as kidneys found in an unborn baby. Scientists at Edinburgh University hope they will grow into full-size organs when transplanted into a human.
The breakthrough could lead to patients creating their own replacement organs without the risk of rejection, a common complication in transplant procedures. Physiologist Jamie Davies, a professor of experimental anatomy at Edinburgh University, said: ''It sounds a bit science fiction-like but it's not.
''The idea is to start with human stem cells and end up with a functioning organ.
''We have made pretty good progress with that. We can make something that has the complexity of a normal, foetal kidney.''
The research team hope that doctors will eventually be able to collect amniotic fluid, which surrounds the growing embryo in the womb, when a baby is born.
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