The laboratory of transplantation biology for regenerative medicine at The University of Gothenburg in Sweden . The research group lead by Professor Suchitra Sumitran – Holgersson designed the first engineered vein succesfully transplanted in the hepatic portal circulation of a 10 - year old female , in 2012 . A donated nine centimeters long iliac vein was used in the study . The cells of the donor were cleared from the three dimensional structure of the vein . The stem cells from the bone marrow of the patient were cultured in the laboratory . The differentiated endothelial and smooth muscle cells grew and divided onto the vessel . There was no need for using immunisuppressives .
Professor Holgersson presented her three future research directions in the talk given at Tedx in 2012 . Her research team redesiged blood vessels and the trachea , and would continue with complicated organs as the liver and the larynx . Two human organs were thrown away , and Professor Holgersson considered they should be recycled : the placenta as filling material in face cheeks and thighs , and the amniotic membrane for wrapping around areas requiring skin grafts . The animal organ , for example the pig heart , was recycled and redesigned , with the challenging task to meet the in vivo requirements .
References :
Olausson M . , Patil P . B . , Kuna V . K . , Chougule P . , Hernandez N . , Methe K . , Kullberg – Lindh C . , Borg H . , Ejnell H . , Sumitran – Holgersson S . ( 2012 ) “ Transplantation of an allogeneic vein bioengineered with autologous stem cells: a proof - of - concept study ” , The Lancet , 380 ( 9838 ) , 230 – 237 .
