Medicaltalks almost 7 years ago

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A heart, before and after decellularization!! This, friends, is the future of regenerative medicine. Decellularization is a biomedical engineering process used to isolate the extracellular matrix (ECM) of a tissue from its inhabiting cells, leaving an ECM scaffold of the original tissue intact for artificial organ and tissue regeneration. This scaffold, called a "ghost organ" for its pale and almost translucent appearance of connective tissue, can be reseeded with a patient’s own cells, with the goal of regenerating an organ that can be transplanted into the patient, all without fear of tissue rejection. The image shows a heart, before and after decellularization, where it was stripped of all native cells, leaving behind an intact vascular system and a scaffold that has been infused with stem cells. The goal is then to grow a new personalized human heart, which can be implanted into a patient. Photo by @mdhealthtips