UNDER THE HOOD
Right now, more than 40,000 people nationwide are in line for a new kidney. During the several years they'll wait for a donor organ, patients must be hooked up to a machine that cleans and filters their blood. Dialysis, the most common process, and hemofiltration, a variation, scrub the blood but, unlike real kidneys, can't selectively reclaim the salts, sugars, and water that the body needs to thrive. Without these nutrients, the patient's chances of long-term survival are greatly reduced.
Using living renal cells from the kidneys of pigs, David Humes, a researcher at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has built a bioartificial kidney that helps the body reclaim the nutrients dialysis drains away. The foot-long Renal Assist Device, below, has worked on dogs; Humes is hoping for FDA approval to begin human trials later this year. His goal is a bioartificial organ that can be worn clipped to a belt. The device, Humes predicts, could reduce dialysis time by up to 50 percent, and may even replace transplants entirely.
MUST READ
May Day UK All the Rage
DVDecryption on Trial
Community Reporting
Ask Dr. Bob
Chicks-and-Mortar
Casting the Net
This Year's Nominees for Best Award
People
Jargon Watch
Farm Aid
Dosing With Microcrystals
Pipe Cleaner
Stalking the Wild VC
Ready to Ware Health Care
Raw Data
