Recellularized Heart

Recellularized Heart

A biologist at the University of Minnesota, Doris Taylor, has discovered a way to make heart transplants more successful. By removing the cells of the donor heart and replacing them with the patient’s cells, a “recellularized heart” would reduce waiting time for donated heart organs and minimize the risk of patient rejection of the new heart.

Currently, about half of the patients receiving heart transplants die within five years, despite current repair procedures and drugs available to minimize rejection. Ms. Taylor has perfected her procedure in rats and expects, if all goes well, that the new transplant procedure will be available for humans in about 10 years.