Medical Portal

For the first time in the world the British research group under the direction of the leading cardiosurgeon has grown up a part of human heart from stem cells. If tests on animals, planned for the end of the current year will be successful, within the nearest three years tissues - substitutes can be used for transplantation in surgeries of hundreds thousand people suffering from various heart diseases.
Sir Magdy Yacoob, the professor of cardiosurgery in London College Imperial, more than ten years searched the ways to solve the problem of donor hearts shortage. His group, working in a scientific centre at Harefield hospital, has grown up tissues which act the same as human heart valves. Achievement of scientists is an important step on a way to a chief aim - creation of a full heart from stem cells.
According to the World Health Organization, 15 million people have died in 2005 because of cardiovascular diseases; according to experts, by 2010, 600 thousand persons will require transplantation of cardiac valves all over the world.
For the solving of a problem professor Yacoob has united a group of physicists, biologists, engineers, pharmacologists, cytologists and experienced clinicians. Their task - to describe the work of every part of a heart - has taken 10 years.