Regenerative Medicine in Organ and Tissue Transplantation: Shortly and Practically Achievable?

Abstract

Since the beginning of organ/tissue transplantation, the therapeutic modality of choice in endstage organ failure, organ shortage has been the main problem in transplantation medicine. Given the so far unsolved obstacle, all hope-raising procedures to possibly tackle this longlasting problem can draw attentions. In this context, “regenerative medicine” sounds to be more promising compared to other approaches. To consider the huge impact of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation on the treatment of some congenital or acquired hematological or metabolic disorders and some advances to produce tissue engineered materials on one hand, and to take all aspects of this emerging and costly interdisciplinary field of research into consideration, on the other hand, inevitably makes this reality unchanged, in particular in countries with low or middle income, that allograft (from deceased or living donors) will remain for years as the irreplaceable source of organ transplantation.