Skin: Raw material to produce blood vessels

A team of California researchers has developed a process of ' cultivating ' blood vessels in the laboratory using a patient's skin sample.

The New York Times newspaper said yesterday that the Cytograft tissue culture center in Novato, California has adopted a 6 to 9 month process, to create blood vessels. Doctors in Argentina tested the technology for the first time in 6 patients.

This method eliminates the need to use anti-rejection drugs and the danger of complications caused by inflammatory reactions, by using the ' ingredients ' available from the cells of the patient himself, rather than from donated sources or synthetic materials.

Cytograft centers also reported that patients were followed up for 13 months, but more monitoring was needed before proceeding to standardize this approach.

Dr Todd McAllister of Cytograft Center said the cost of using this method would be between $ 15,000 and $ 25,000 per patient, but he also said the cost would be reduced when it was introduced. tea.

Companies have also applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), seeking permission to test the method.

Vascular diagram in the human body (in the image is the aorta).
(Photo: Ultrasoundspecialists)

Bui Thanh