Artificial Blood Vessels Are Developed From Cadaver Tissue

Damaged blood vessels due to cardiovascular problems will be more severe if not treated properly. Patients who experience this situation usually have only 2 choices. One is to use blood vessels from others, and the other is to use an entirely new one. Blood vessels from other donors can be eliminated by the recipient's body and using synthetic vessels that can cause the recipient to become infected.

After four years of research on the project to develop blood vessels getting from dead people, researchers are currently in the second phase to test this measure. The study has been published recently, and the results are very promising.

Researchers from Humacyte Technology, Duke University, and Yale University had to collect a lot of endothelial cells and blood vessels from cadavers to create artificial blood vessels.

They let the cells grow for eight weeks inside biodegradable polymer tubes. During that time, the polymer tube was gradually broken. After that, the dead body tissue was removed, the scientists only kept the vascular scaffold. It contains proteins that help support blood vessels in our bodies.

Heather Prichard, COO of Humacyte, said the process of removing cells is critical because it helps us to mass produce these artificial blood vessels and implant it in any patient who needs it while in the surgery room.

According to the report published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday, researchers tested this artificial blood vessel to 60 patients with end-stage stem failure.

The stem cells of transplanted patients have gradually developed around artificial cells and formed vascular tissues that live and function smoothly. So far, artificial blood vessels can still work properly without causing any complications like the previous methods.

Researchers are now confident in their research that may open up more hopes for patients who need vascular transplantation. Someday, this method may be the best option for doctors when dealing with problems with vascular damage.

Prichard told Discover that scientists are delighted that the medical product has the potential to be included in functional tissue regeneration in patients in the future. If these blood vessels work successful, it can be highly effective and long-lasting.