Stem Cell Success

A 10 year-old British boy has successfully received a transplanted windpipe that was treated with his own stem cells to prevent his body from rejecting the donated organ; the surgery is a major medical advance. “The boy, who is British, is the first child in the world to undergo the revolutionary transplantation. The development takes transplant surgery a step closer to the goal of replacing damaged or worn-out organs with functioning replacements that are not rejected by the body, which are in increasing demand as life expectancy grows. It also opens up the prospect of treating damaged organs with stem cells to stimulate self-repair, potentially avoiding the need for a transplant. The nine-hour operation was carried out at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on Monday by a British and Italian team of specialists. The boy has not been identified, at his family’s request, but doctors said he was out of bed, breathing freely and speaking. “He says it is easier to breathe than it has been for many years,” said Professor Martin Elliott, the surgeon who carried out the operation.”