Xeno-Transplantation: The Ultimate Organ Factory

Every year, tens of thousands of people who could have been saved by organ transplants die before a donor is found. The simple truth is that there are not enough organs to go around. In the case of hearts, ventricular assist devices and complete artificial hearts may soon fill much of this gap. There is promising work being done by tissue engineers working to create artificial kidneys, livers, pancreases, and other organs. But widespread commercial availability of those organs is likely decades away. However, new research promises to make low-cost, fully functional org.....