vat-grown, custom organs?!

Post by **Mikey** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:11 pm

Cyberpunk today:

http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_lif ... 78545.html

RK_Striker_JK_5 · Post by **RK_Striker_JK_5** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:39 pm

Ooh, may that make the leap to humans... and not be hampered by kneejerk reactionary BS.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:36 pm

Very interesting. Good find, Mikey.

Post by **Tsukiyumi** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:14 pm

Yeah, that kicks ass. New knees and eyes for me! And put a new pancreas for Mikey on my tab.

Post by **Mikey** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:57 pm

Thanks! I'll try to keep this one a little nicer.

Seriously, if anyone doesn't realize, the major problem with transplants lies in the fact that they were originally someone else's organs. Immunosuppresants help with rejection issues, but are also... well, immunosupressants - you get sick more easily, and then your new, precarious organs are affected...

The research I have done lies mainly in the way of diabetic treatment, for obvious and selfish reasons. Pancreatic (or pancreatic cell) transplants have been done - however, they rarely last more than a few years. Additionally, I would never consider having it done at the current state of the art; as it is, I take a daily regimen of drugs (hormones, actually) because of my bad pancreas - plus keep to a particular diet, etc. With such a transplant, I would undergo MAJOR surgery, PLUS have to continue a daily regimen of powerful drugs with both side effects as well as the primary effect of being extraordinarily vulnerable to disease - even more so than a plain old, garden variety type 1 diabetic.

Think of never having to weigh the risks vs. the rewards for a patient who could benefit from a new heart, lung, kidney, bone marrow, or whatever.

Sionnach Glic · Post by **Sionnach Glic** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:22 pm

Indeed, this would be a great boon to medical problems everywhere.

Post by **Mikey** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:41 pm

Now look at this - I know this is a sci-fi forum, but this is a real article:

http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/s ... d.Embryos/

PS - nice to see you guys across the pond are contributing something since Watson and Krick... J.K.