Scientists 'seed' cells, make new organs

By Stephanie Smith, CNN Medical Producer
March 7, 2011 6:41 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- Engineering organs begins with something missing -- a phantom organ in the body that causes a patient incredible discomfort, dysfunction or pain. It ends with a Star Trek-esque feat of engineering where missing organs are replaced using cells culled from a patient's own body.

In a small pilot study, published Monday in the Lancet, scientists reported successfully reconstructing urethras in five young patients, using their own cells.

"We were able to create patients' own tissue that actually belongs there," said Dr. Anthony Atala, lead author of the study and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "If the tissue is supposed to be there, hopefully we will do better by the patient."

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