First Vein Grown From Human Stem Cells Transplanted The first
vein grown from a patient’s own stem cells was successfully
transplanted into a 10-year-old girl, potentially offering a way
for those lacking healthy veins to undergo dialysis or heart
bypass surgery. A team led by Michael Olausson of the University
of Gothenburg took a 9-centimeter (3.5-inch) segment of vein
from a human donor and removed all living cells, the Swedish
researchers wrote in a study in The Lancet medical journal
today. The resulting protein scaffolding was injected with stem
cells from the girl’s bone marrow, and two weeks later was
implanted in the patient, who had a blockage in the vein that
carries blood from the spleen and intestines to the liver. The
result points to what may be a safer source of stem cells, the
building blocks of life which can grow into any type of tissue
in the body. Using cells from the patient may limit the risk
that the immune system would attack the transplant, which can
occur with tissue taken from heal