First transplant of a grown-to-order organ

Mother-of-two becomes first transplant patient to receive an organ grown to order in a laboratory
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Wednesday, 19 November 2008

A 30-year-old Spanish woman has made medical history by becoming the first patient to receive a whole organ transplant grown using her own cells.

Experts said the development opened a new era in surgery in which the repair of worn-out body parts would be carried out with personally customised replacements.

Claudia Castillo, who lives in Barcelona, underwent the operation to replace her windpipe after tuberculosis had left her with a collapsed lung and unable to breathe.

The bioengineered organ was transplanted into her chest last June at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona. the rest