Should We Be Regrowing the Human Body?
Posted September 17, 2012
We used to say advances in science and technology were the stuff of science fiction. These days it seems a bit more like Harry Potter. The New York Times this week provided updates on medical developments in actually growing human muscle tissue and key organs that can be used for transplant.
A First: Human Organs Tailor-Made With Body’s Own Cells
Human Muscle, Regrown on Animal Scaffolding
The process is extraordinary. Scientists make use of a material known as “extracellular matrix” or ECM. According to the articles, ECM is “the natural scaffolding that underlies all tissues and organs, in people as well as animals. It is produced by cells, and for years scientists thought that its main role was to hold them in their proper position. But researchers now know that this scaffolding also signals the body to grow and repair those tissues and organs. Armed with that knowledge, the new body builders are using this material from pigs and other animals to engineer the growth of replacement tissue in humans.”
Using ECM researchers have been able to grow replacement parts such as windpipes and bladders. Work continues on other organs including livers and kidneys. Even more possibilities remain. The amazing advance is particularly important since the tissue is grown from the patient’s own adult stem cells, which can be harvested from bone marrow. As a result, the probability of rejection by the body is greatly reduced given the direct match. Eventually scientists hope to avoid even the transplant process by growing new organs right inside the human body.
These are still very early days in this area of medical research. The procedures are very expensive and quite limited in scope. Yet our incredible ability to advance in science and technology will invariably create future choices for us. For example, the desirability of growing organs or rebuilding muscle tissue is self-evident. Yet the cost implications are far from view. How will we, as a society, incorporate the financial impacts of advanced medicine into our broader economic planning around healthcare?
Moreover, many of the moral and ethical choices around the use of embryonic stem cells have been supplanted by our growing ability to work with adult stem cells, especially when our own stem cells can be harvested to benefit our medical needs. Yet the ability to grow an organ or replace tissue makes me wonder about the underlying expectation for replacement parts that are damaged as the result of unhealthy lifestyles. If I drink excessively and damage my liver, can’t we just grow a new one?
From time to time we need to stop and think about some of the most important questions we will face in just a few short years. I wonder if our discussions regarding healthcare are simply addressing the expectations of the past, without squarely facing the demands of the future.
This piece was originally written for The Des Moines Register’s A Better Iowa, where President Mark Putnam served as a featured columnist.
About the Author
I'm the lucky individual who carries the title, 21st president of Central College in Pella, Iowa. Passionate about higher education and the issues facing it and the world today, I hope to invoke an engaging conversation with all who are ready to dig in, make a difference and build for the future. Share your thoughts. I'm listening and interested.