Medicogramover 1 year ago

Decellularization

Decellularization is the process used in biomedical engineering to isolate the extracellular matrix (ECM) of a tissue from its inhabiting cells, leaving an ECM scaffold of the original tissue, which can be used in artificial organ and tissue regeneration. This scaffold of connective tissue can then be reseeded with a patient's own cells, with the goal of regenerating an organ that can be transplanted into the patient without fear of tissue rejection. This image shows a decellularized heart with the vascular system still intact, in which the cells have been stripped away, and the remaining scaffold has been infused with stem cells. This will help grow a new human heart, which can be implanted into a patient.