Kidney grown from stem cells

Scientists in Australia have grown the world`s first kidney from stem cells, which could eventually help to reduce the wait for transplants. The breakthrough, published in the journal Nature Cell Biology, followed years of research and involved the transformation of human skin cells into an organoid – a functioning "mini-kidney" with a width of only a few millimetres, The Telegraph has reported.

Scientists are hoping to increase the size of future kidneys and believe the resulting organs will boost research and allow cheaper, faster testing of drugs. Within the next three to five years, the artificial organs could be used to allow doctors to repair damaged kidneys within the body, rather than letting diseases develop before proceeding with a transplant.

- This is the first time anybody has managed to direct stem cells into the functional units of a kidney. It is an amazing process – it is like a Lego building that puts itself together - Professor Brandon Wainwright, from the University of Queensland, told The Telegraph.

Professor Wainwright said the process for developing the kidney was "like a scientific approach to cooking". The scientists methodically examined which genes were switched on and off during kidney development and then manipulated the skin cells into embryonic stem cells which could "self-organise" and form complex human structures.

- The researchers spent years looking at what happens if you turn this gene off and this one on. You can eventually coax these stem cells through a journey – they go through various stages and then think about being a kidney cell and eventually pop together to form a little piece of kidney - he said.

The research could eventually help address the demand for transplant organs and improve medical testing of new drugs for patients with kidney disease. Human kidneys are particularly susceptible to damage during trials, which makes finding effective medicines costly and time-consuming.

Scientists could also try to grow full-grown kidneys for transplants or even "clusters of mini kidneys" that could be transplanted to boost patients` renal functions, but such developments are still believed to be more than a decade away.