Double duty for donor kidneys.Every week in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , about 16,000 people hook up to dialysis machines because their kidneys do not function properly. Only about half of these individuals will get much-needed transplants. Now, however, physiologists plan to make donated kidneys do double duty by developing a way to divide each organ and transplant each half into a recipient. To investigate this possibility, Dilip 5. Kittur of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and biomedical research institute in the United States. in Baltimore first studied pigs, whose kidneys anatomically resemble those of humans. In early experiments, he removed and split kidneys, then implanted half a kidney back into each 3-month-old donor pig. The pigs thrived for several years, reaching weights of roughly 400 pounds, he says. Last year, Kittur's team removed the kidneys from another dozen pigs, implanting half of each kidney into the donor and the other half into a different pig. The researchers found that they could successfully hook up a half kidney in a new pig. But because they did not treat the animals with immunosuppressant drugs Immunosuppressant Drugs Definition Immunosuppressant drugs, also called anti-rejection drugs, are used to prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted organ. , these pigs rejected the transplants. In further work, Kittur says, the researchers hope to use immunosuppressants immunosuppressants, n.pl the agents that lower or reduce immune response; useful in organ transplant surgery to prevent organ rejection. Corticosteroid hormones given in large amounts; cytotoxic drugs, including antimetabolites and alkylating agents; and assess how well a donated mini-kidney works. At the same time, Kittur analyzed the anatomy and blood flow of kidneys of deceased humans. Until now, scientists assumed that they couldn't easily divide a kidney because of the arrangement of blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. in this organ. But the cadaver cadaver /ca·dav·er/ (kah-dav´er) a dead body; generally applied to a human body preserved for anatomical study.cadav´ericcadav´erous ca·dav·er n. studies led Kittur to conclude that he could halve halve tr.v. halved, halv·ing, halves 1. To divide (something) into two equal portions or parts. 2. To lessen or reduce by half: halved the recipe to serve two. 3. a human kidney if he first altered the connections of two arteries. "It's not too hard to do. It's just the concept that's different" he says. Other researchers who have evaluated the survival of people who lost all but half a kidney to cancer or some other disease determined that half a kidney can function for at least 10 years. "But they have some amount of damage from having too much work to do," Kittur notes. Also, even small rejection reactions will further impair kidney function. Nonetheless, he thinks the procedure should help relieve shortages of donor organs. |
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