The Reality of Regenerative Medicine

An estimated 107,000 people in the United States are currently on the waiting list for organ transplantation. These patients face waiting times of 3-5 years or longer before receiving an organ. Even after receiving a donated organ, organ-transplant patients face a high risk of tissue rejection. Regenerative medicine promises the possibility of laboratory-grown organs, specially tailored to the biology and needs of individual patients, but how close is this technology to reality?

In this month’s episode, we discuss the potential of regenerative medicine to replace damaged organs and tissues and cases where stem cell and regenerative medicine influence health today. Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Anthony Atala, the W. Boyce Professor and Chair of Urology and the G. Link Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine to learn more.

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research. This month's episode is sponsored by PHCbi.

PHC Corporation of North America is a global leader in the development, design, and manufacturing of laboratory equipment. Products include the space-saving and energy-efficient VIP® ECO, TwinGuard® and VIP Series ultra-low temperature freezers, cryogenic and biomedical freezers, pharmacy and high-performance refrigerators, cell culture CO2 and multigas incubators, and Drosophila and plant Growth Chambers.