Transplants continue to evolve in the 1980s, as the world witnessed the first successful lung transplants, double lung transplant, living liver donors, heart-lung transplants, and living donor lung transplants. This has evolved even further in the 2000s, as the first full face transplant occurred, and scientists contemplate even a brain transplant.
Although there is still much to discover, and existing therapies are limited, there is hope that a new world of medicine is in its earliest stages. Imagine a world where limbs can be regrown, dreaded diseases vanquished, and new organs grown and implanted.
Researchers believe it is possible, and the possibilities offer hope to the millions of people who suffer today with diseases and conditions that have few effective treatments.
There are medical professionals focused today on the three R’s of regenerative medicine. No, not readin’, 'riting and ‘rithmetic, as the old joke goes, but Rejuvenation, Replacement and Regeneration.
Rejuvenation focuses on finding ways to get specialized cells like the heart to be able to self-heal. The cells were once thought to be incapable of self-repair, but research is hoping to unlock the secrets that allow a cut to heal in a few days and apply it to other organs.
Replacement involves taking healthy cells from a donor and using them to replace ones that are no longer optimal. This can involve ways to circumvent the body’s immune system and the possibility of rejection and ways to entice more living donors.
Regeneration is the science fiction area of regenerative medicine, involving cells that can rejuvenate and restore organs and tissue function through cell therapy or regrowth.