Researchers Grow Kidney-Like Organs in Laboratory

Researchers Grow Kidney-Like Organs in Laboratory

Researchers in Australia have grown a kidney-like organ. Let that sink in. It’s comparable to what a baby in its first trimester would have, 1-12 weeks in utero. This may seem like a small feat but it’s a literal petri dish kidney, that’s remarkable. Organs can be grown. They believe that with time they could potentially grow fully functioning kidneys ready for human transplant. Meanwhile, the tiny kidney they have now could be used to screen drugs for kidney toxicity. Many pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money on a certain drug only to find out it would damage the kidney during clinical trials, the medicine is then thrown out and the process starts again. These grown kidneys would completely change that, drugs would just be directly tested on them, rather than animals, and the process would be more cost effective.

 This is relevant to marketing because it is focused on improving the prescription drug product. Along with making medicine more efficient and less harmful, this could potentially save lives through kidney transplants. The work these researchers are carrying out could revolutionize the transplant industry by creating a new market.

My sister lost one of her best friends to kidney failure two years ago and it is incredible to see progress in treating kidney failure. Dialysis doesn’t always cut it and transplant lists are ridiculous. A person should have a chance at life without feeling the guilt of knowing that somebody is living without a kidney or isn’t living at all.
WSJ Article 
Published:Oct. 7, 2015 1:00 p.m. ET