Dr Klaus Platz - New Research May Abolish Need for Organ Donors

Transplant expert Dr Klaus Platz believes the world’s first stem cell-grown liver could abolish the need for organ donors in New Zealand in the future.
This would mean Kiwis could bypass a physically and mentally distressing wait for a transplant, the Colorectal Fellow and Surgical Registrar of the Department of Surgery at Waikato Hospital says.
The revolutionary functional liver was made by a team of Japanese scientists, who transplanted a portion of liver grown from stem cells into mice.
“This ground-breaking research means that Kiwis will hopefully no longer be reliant on waiting for a transplant from a donor in the future,” he says.
“This is an incredible step in the right direction for the medical profession which will inevitably make transplant surgery a less testing and drawn-out process for patients who struggle with the anxiety of a long wait,” says Dr Platz.
The successful creation of a stem cell-grown liver will likely mean stem cells could be used to grow all of the body’s organs, he says.
Dr Platz says this move could help to combat Kiwis’ battle with the side effects of an unhealthy lifestyle, which can lead to liver problems.
“With the rise of obesity being an increasing problem among Kiwis, this can lead to liver disease,” he says.
“This type of liver disease can be evaded, but in cases where it’s not, this kind of problem could be more easily dealt with if stem cell-grown organs were available for transplants,” says Dr Platz.
Family inherited diseases and metabolic diseases can also lead to liver diseases, he says.
The stem cell-grown liver was made when researchers in Japan used the three types of cell that generate the liver in a human embryo to grow a tiny piece of tissue in a dish.

This was then grafted on to a mouse’s brain, where it hooked up to the blood supply and grew for at least two months.
Dr Platz says this development is one of the most exciting he has seen in more than 25 years in the medical profession.
Scientists say the research may be ready for clinical trials within the next 10 years.
For more information on liver transplantation, visit a public education site on the topic www.klausplatz.co.nz