This Blood Vessel Was Grown in a Lab With Real Human Cells
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Summary
A new blood vessel created by North Carolina-based biotechnology company Humacyte has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in patients with traumatic injuries.
Made using donated tissue to avoid the risk of rejection,Humacyte’s bioengineered blood vessel is designed to restore blood flow to patients with vascular trauma.
Currently, synthetic alternatives made of Teflon or Dacron are used, but these carry a risk of infection as bacteria love to sit on the foreign bodies.
The bioengineered vessel was tested in 77 patients, with the results showing it remained open and functioning in almost 92% of patients, compared to 79% for synthetic grafts.
Additionally, only 4.5% of patients required amputation, much lower than the 24% when synthetics were used.