There are currently 150,000 people registered in The National Transplant waiting list. Many on the list would eventually find a donor; however, some would have to face the cruel reality of problem known as the “donor matching problem.” This is because although donor organs are available for transplant, the blood type or organ size may not match with the recipients who are waiting in line. This means another American is added to the waiting list every ten minutes. This has prompted researchers from around the world to attempt to solve the donor matching problem.

At Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Harald Ott, MD and his team are trying to come up with a solution. The good news is – major advancements are being made in medical science. Dr. Ott plans to use patients’ own stem cells to regrow organs which can then be used to replace the ones that are not functioning properly.

At the moment, Dr. Ott and his team are making strides in growing hearts of pigs and rats in the lab. While the research is still in its infancy, Dr. Ott is confident that he could begin clinical trials within the decade, which will without a doubt introduce a new era in medical science, where any patient in need of a new organ could get one customized with the help of their own stem cells within a matter of weeks.