On Replacement Parts
Existence is Wonderful looks at the prospects for replacement organs - while we wait for therapies capable of reversing the biochemical damage that makes it necessary to replace organs: "What is needed next, along with wider recognition of the lack of an expiration date on an individual person's value, is a means to replace worn-out parts that doesn't require nearly so many dead donors, and that doesn't pose so much danger to the recipient in terms of infection and immune issues. ... Bioartificial parts are essentially the products of the emerging science of tissue engineering ... applications of tissue engineering will benefit people of all ages (bioengineered bladders have already been successfully implanted in several children), but the growing elderly population stands to benefit tremendously from anything that makes effective replacement parts safer and more readily available. Bioartificial parts could potentially take innumerable forms, but given the organs people really depend most on for [survival], it is definitely good to see that laboratory results (and in some cases, clinical/experimental trials) have been obtained for bioartificial arteries, hearts, livers, and kidneys."
Link: http://www.existenceiswonderful.com/2008/10/livers-and-kidneys-and-hearts-oh-my.html