Organ donations and transplants can save many lives, but the process has challenges. The supply of viable organs is extremely limited compared to the demand. Issues of organ rejection can also be common in the transplant process. Because of these challenges, many scientists are working towards new innovations in regenerative medicine and organ regeneration to find better ways to help others.
Porcine Materials for Regenerative Medicine
Through advancements in biomedical science, regenerative medicine and stem cell research, scientists are coming up with new techniques and procedures to grow and regrow cells, tissues and eventually organs from a range of biological materials. A main contributor to this work in regenerative medicine comes from porcine materials.
Porcine materials are a great aid in the efforts of organ regeneration. Materials harvested from pigs have many benefits from other sources because of the similarities between pig and human biology. Pig organs are very similar to our own, and their internal systems are alike as well. Pig organs also function in similar manner as human organs, and pigs can also experience some of the same medical issues we do. Even now, porcine materials are often used in medical devices to treat various injuries or conditions in human beings.
In the generation of cells and tissues that pave the way for the creation of transplantable organs, scientists use building blocks known as extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds to bioengineer structures that can be used in tissue grafting and other regenerative medicine therapies. Porcine materials are an obvious choice for creating ECM scaffolds for immediate availability and relation to human biology.
As the technology for organ regeneration becomes viable for widespread use, its use in regenerative medicine, transplants and other life saving techniques has many applications. The biggest benefit seen by experts is the creation of organs that are perfect matches for their recipients. Degenerative diseases can be better treated, and the shortage of viable organs will decrease.
As research continues in the fields of regenerative medicine and organ regeneration, the need for consistent, high quality porcine tissues and materials are rapidly increasing. At SSR, we have the quality, experience and scalability to meet the demanding needs of these important fields.