Researchers Grow Organs In The Lab

Lab Grown Ears

In 1996 scientists built a human bladder and since then, they have been building increasingly more complex organs. There have been five windpipe replacement operations so far. Lab-grown tear ducts and an artery have been transplanted into patients.

This article in the Wall Street Journal highlights scientists that are working on a heart, among other organs. Growing a heart is much more difficult than a windpipe, as the heart is larger and has several types of cells, including those that beat, those that form blood vessels, and those that help conduct electrical signals.

A shortage of human organs for transplant has spurred research into "building" them.