DailyDirt: No More Urban Legends Of Waking Up In A Bathtub Without Your Kidneys...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There are plenty of ethical issues with organ transplants and how to handle the undersupply of donors. Hopefully, medical science is getting advanced enough to grow organs and eliminate the shortage of organs for patients who need them. Here are just a few stories about organs in modern medicine.

• A 6-way paired kidney transplant operation took 2 days and a handful of surgeons to complete. Software called MatchGrid identifies chains of donors and recipients that can optimize organ compatibility and significantly shorten the recipient wait list. [url]
• Researchers have grown mini-stomachs from stem cells -- technically, just the lower end of the stomach, but still. Petri-dish stomachs could help in learning how to prevent certain stomach cancers and potentially lead to stomach patches for ulcers. [url]
• Are there really vestigial organs in your body? Living without a gall bladder or appendix is not uncommon, but who gets these organs removed as a precaution? (Answer: Antarctic explorers and perhaps some astronauts.) [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: appendix, cancer, gall bladder, health, kidneys, matchgrid, organ, organ transplant, regeneration, stem cells, stomach, ulcer