Lab-grown organs are science fiction no longer

Experimental procedure
The team, which began its work in 1999, followed the last patient for almost two years. In undergoing the experimental procedure, the patients skirted the typical side effects of grafts that would otherwise have been made with their own intestinal tissue.

“It gives everyone in the field ... the evidence and encouragement they’ve needed to say this can be done,” said Dr. Stephen Badylak, a University of Pittsburgh expert in tissue engineering.

Atala, the research leader who has since moved to Wake Forest University, has already begun commercializing his transplant techniques through Tengion, a company he helped found in King of Prussia, Pa. It has licensing rights to patents on his work, and some of his research collaborators have acted as consultants.

Some researchers were more cautious about the promise shown with the new procedure, saying the study lacks any direct comparison group of patients getting the traditional graft.

Dr. Joseph Zwischenberger, who edits the journal of the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs, questioned how well the new bladders worked in the first few patients and raised a “red flag” about two patients who left the study for personal reasons and were ultimately omitted from the results. He also said Atala’s attempts to commercialize the technique should add some skepticism toward the findings, which he nonetheless called “very interesting preliminary data.”

The patients in the study must still cope with the ravages of spina bifida, the birth defect that caused their bladder problems. Leaving the spine incompletely closed, spina bifida can turn off nerve signals that keep the bladder healthy. The stiff, leathery bladder leaks frequently, forcing the person to wear pads or diapers. What’s worse, the weakened bladders can flush urine back into the kidneys and damage them too.

The rebuilt bladders, though, were up to three times more elastic and better at holding urine, the researchers report. In all seven patients, kidney function was preserved, the study said. The patients must still empty their bladders regularly with a tube but can avoid leaking in between.

For Kaitlyne McNamara, the urinary infections, leaking, and daily diapers are now just embarrassing memories.

“It kind of boosted my self-esteem,” she says. “I don’t have to worry.”

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