Lab-Grown Vaginas Implanted in Humans for the First Time

Lab-grown vaginas were implanted in patients for the first time report scientists at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine. In a paper published here in The Lancet the researchers describe long-term success in four teenage girls who received vaginal organs created using their own cells. The girls in the study were born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a rare genetic condition in which the vagina and uterus are underdeveloped or absent.

Anthony Atala, M.D., director of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the leader of the research team, says in a statement, "This pilot study is the first to demonstrate that vaginal organs can be constructed in the lab and used successfully in humans. This may represent a new option for patients who require vaginal reconstructive surgeries. In addition, this study is one more example of how regenerative medicine strategies can be applied to a variety of tissues and organs."

The girls were between 13 and 18 years old at the time of the surgeries, which were performed between 2005 and 2008. The scientists say data from annual follow-up visits show that the organs had normal function even up to eight years after the surgeries.

CNN reports that the organs were grown using a scaffold which is seeded with the patient's cells. The 3-D scaffold mirrors the dimension of the organs. The scaffold is absorbed as the organ develops and grows. Lab-grown vaginas were tested in mice and rabbits in the early 1990s before the clinical trials. This was how the researchers learned of the importance of using cells on the scaffolds.

Atala told CNN, "The body recognizes the organ as its own. And just like with normal organs, these organs also grow with (the patients)."

U.S. News reports that despite its success the procedure is still a long way from becomming a common procedure.