Man-Made Human Organ Successfully Transplanted




Source: Marcelo Terraza



The future in now! Yesterday, Harvard Bioscience published the following press release; "Harvard Bioscience's Bioreactor Grows a Synthetic Tissue-Engineered Trachea Used in World's First Successful Human Transplantation." 

In it they stated the following;

HOLLISTON, Mass., July 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq:HBIO), a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of tools to advance life science research and regenerative medicine, announces that its "InBreath" bioreactor was used for the world's first successful transplantation of a synthetic tissue engineered windpipe. For first time in history, a patient has been given a new trachea made from a synthetic scaffold seeded with his own stem cells in Harvard Bioscience's bioreactor. The patient, a 36-year old man who had been suffering from late stage tracheal cancer, that before this surgery would have been inoperable, is well on the way to a full recovery and will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.

The operation was performed on June 9, 2011 at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge, Stockholm, by Professor Paolo Macchiarini of Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, and colleagues. Professor Macchiarini led an international team including Prof. Alexander Seifalian from University College in London, England, who designed and built the nanocomposite tracheal scaffold, and Harvard Bioscience, who produced a specifically designed bioreactor used to seed the scaffold with the patient's own stem cells. The cells were grown on the scaffold inside the bioreactor for two days before transplantation into the patient. Because the cells used to regenerate the trachea were the patient's own, there has been no rejection of the transplant, and the patient is not taking immunosuppressive drugs.

Madison Park, a writer at CNN highlighted some interesting points in her news story; "Lab-made organ implanted for first time."

1. Previous lab-generated transplants either used a segment of donor windpipe or involved tissue only, not an organ.
2. Rather than waiting for a transplant, his doctors suggested growing an organ.
3. "Stem cells from the own patient were growing inside and outside,"... "This structure was becoming a living structure."
4. Earlier this year, regenerative medicine scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine reported that they had engineered five urethras between March 2004 and July 2007.
5. This area of research remains somewhat controversial in medicine, because critics say this could lead to human cloning.

In the article, "Singularity - The "Scientific" Rapture" I discussed the new breed of science being developed and how it will directly affect our future. Then on Wednesday in the article, "Immortality: A Scientific Phenomenon?" I talked about the current scientific pursuit of Longevity and why we should pay attention. The war is on against aging, disease and natural death. Yesterday's announcement is further proof that the future we once spoke of is here. With the right advancements in science and technology a significant impact on human life expectancy is quite possible. Hence, we might be crossing into a very different type of existence.



The graft immediately prior to implant and after two days of cell growth. 

(Source: Harvard Bioscience)



Matthew 24:36-39(NLT) - “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

After reading Wednesday's article "Immortality: A Scientific Phenomenon?" one of my colleagues made a startling suggestion. Jesus said that at His return it will be like the Days of Noah. He highlighted specific characteristics of those days but left out one important detail that now is being broached among scientists. In Noah's day, people lived much longer than they do now. In fact, it was in Noah's day that God made the following statement.

Genesis 6:3(KJV) - And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

When you compare the lifespans of people before Noah's flood and after you will realize a significant drop. They decreased from hundreds of years to less than one hundred and twenty. 

In Wednesday's article, I made the following quote; "If Aubrey de Grey's predictions are right, the first person who will live to see their 150th birthday has already been born. And the first person to live for 1,000 years could be less than 20 years younger."

If developments in stem cell research, bio-engineering and synthetic biology continue in the direction they are going, we may see a return to the Days of Noah. If that's the case, you know what's supposed to take place when that happens.

Immortality: A Scientific Phenomenon?

Do you want to live past 150 years old? That's impossible, right? Or is it? The list of centenarians (100 year olds) on the earth is as hallowed as the list of billionaires. Nonetheless, the Longevity Movement has been picking up steam with industry leaders like Dr Joel Wallach. I heard him in person at a Health Conference last year and some of his revelations blew my mind. Few people really understand the natural causes of age related sickness and death or even care to understand. Now it has hit the mainstream media.

Two days ago, Yahoo News published the article; "Who wants to live forever? Scientist sees aging cured"  written by Health and Science Correspondent Kate Kelland. Here's a quote from the very interesting article;

LONDON (Reuters) – If Aubrey de Grey's predictions are right, the first person who will live to see their 150th birthday has already been born. And the first person to live for 1,000 years could be less than 20 years younger.

A biomedical gerontologist and chief scientist of a foundation dedicated to longevity research, de Grey reckons that within his own lifetime doctors could have all the tools they need to "cure" aging -- banishing diseases that come with it and extending life indefinitely.

"I'd say we have a 50/50 chance of bringing aging under what I'd call a decisive level of medical control within the next 25 years or so," de Grey said in an interview before delivering a lecture at Britain's Royal Institution academy of science.

As soon as I finished reading these first three paragraphs I immediately thought about "The Singularity".

The language of hope that one day science would overcome natural limitations was consistent. As expected, I was right on it. It didn't take much research to find the connection through a few YouTube videos. You can read more detailed information on Dr Aubrey De Grey and his team's work at Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) Foundation.

This research fascinates me. Why? I actually believe they're on to something. Call me a conspiracy theorist but the bridge between Faith and Science has already been built. Hence, those of us who choose to march back and forth along it are increasing in number.


Now, believe it or not, in 2007 I published my first book, "I Curse Death - What if God said we didn't all have to die?" In it, I discussed the controversial idea that there will be a final generation of people who will live on earth before the return of Jesus Christ with supernatural longevity. Here's the blurb on the back cover;

If Adam had never sinned in the garden of Eden, would he still have died? If death came by sin and Jesus Christ defeated sin on the cross, what happened to death? In I Curse Death, author Donnell Duncan boldly answers these questions and many more. The message is simple: man was designed by God to be immortal and only lost that gift by falling into sin. Duncan demonstrates with scripture that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ restored this gift to all those who believe. With each intriguing chapter, Duncan draws the reader into a world governed by the original Will of God. In that world, each human being is given a specific time to complete a specific purpose and does not die before it is completed. With an abundance of scriptural support he makes it clear that death has no power over the plan of God for an individual. After reading I Curse Death the reader will be convinced that the Bible holds the keys of life that unlock the mysteries of death.

Source: Google Books - I Curse Death
 
Hmm... maybe I was on to something too. What do you think?