I had to share this because it could change our lives. Specifically i'm thinking as a FTM whose currently very unhappy with phalloplasty and meatoplasty.
Essentially what's happening is scientists have been able to bring organs back from the dead.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.dailymail.co.uk%2Fi%2Fpix%2F2008%2F01_03%2Fnewheart1301_468x149.jpg&hash=91583dd46f80061a179d1d3ea8a58ef6e6dc26d5)
What does this mean? Whose to say that in a few years time they aren't able to make a penis for use FTM's? The donor would donate their junk, it gets a proper shampooing (the chemical used to turn the organ into a skeleton is actually a component of shampoo), they inject it with your cells and wham bam, thank you ma'am, you have a new fangled penis readying to be attached to you, with nearly a 0% rejection rate because it was made using your cells.
Here's so more reading on the subject;
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-508028/Grow-heart-Scientists-bring-dead-organ-life-injecting-new-cells.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-508028/Grow-heart-Scientists-bring-dead-organ-life-injecting-new-cells.html)
'Bio-scaffold' Used to Aid New Organ Growth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUtNTbXSAa4#)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/health/research/scientists-make-progress-in-tailor-made-organs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/health/research/scientists-make-progress-in-tailor-made-organs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)
They've made a heart and lungs so far, the heart actually started to beat all on it's own, just like you see happen in a fetus. and the lungs breathe.
Fun fact, replacing ink with cells they even managed to use a printer to print a heart, which also beat.
The only problem I could see with this is that they might not be able to attach all of the nerves properly. Other than that, yes it seems extremely viable for ftms to have a "donated penis".
What about ovaries?, breast tissue?, redistribution of fat cells? :) That would be extremely cool
I bet you they could make breast tissue. I mean they made a heart that works, so I assume they could make breast tissue and possibly even ovaries. You make a good point though sky blue, they'd have to get a bit better that attaching nerves, but one of the articles I read suggested they want to begin constructing limbs for people who have lost them, if they can hook up the nerves to an arm or leg i'd assume it would only be a little step to attach something like a penis.
Woohoo necromancy ftw!
I thought they used Viagra to bring dead organs back to life? >:-)
Frankenfurter? Sounds decades off for the development, testing and approval of a heart. Maybe a penis much sooner as it's not so mission critical.
What this means is, instead of having "chop shops" for Mercedes, Lexus, and old Chevys, the are going to have them for ...
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F25.media.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_m5ucahDKOi1rohz9zo1_500.jpg&hash=f1fe2849ae4d2587f0a82117f91ab582f06e4877)
...PEOPLE!!
Is that the same technique that was used for the Chinese exhibit "Bodies"? (They injected a silicon plastic in the matrix, iirc) Creepy show, I didn't go but saw many pics.
But, the potential for this is fantastic!
It' different then the show Bodies and Body World. Those involve injecting plastic into the system to preserve it. This process takes an organ, lets say a heart, from a cadaver, bathes it in a strong detergent to remove all the cells from it, just leaving the skeleton of the heart (there's essentially nothing left but the 'casing' if you will. It's like a eggshell with no egg inside.) then they fill it with your stem cells, giving the cells a 'form' which was the problem they were struggling with before figuring this scaffold idea out, give it a bit of TLC and bam your heart begins to beat and work all on it's own!
And to Jamie, not so! They don't need fresh organs. This means they can completely eliminate the potential of the organ dieing during shipment. It means that organs can be donated, but they can be preserved till they are needed. When it comes to hearts too, they can use animals like pigs. It's pretty incredible, cause how I understand it is a transplant needs to be done within a very short time period, with a potential not only for the organ to die but for it to be altogether rejected. This process will eliminate all of these issues!
Just wanted to resurrect this because it's still so awesome. Was thinking more on this topic today and talking to my mom about it and she had a great idea. If it became possible to create both men parts (testes, penis, prostate, etc) and female bits (clit, ovaries, vagina, etc) then wouldn't it be great if we as the trans community became the donors for the other side? FTM's could donate their ovaries for example to the MTF's, so they had the scaffolding for ovaries and MTF's could be donating their penis', because this kind of development could eliminate the need to use the penis in surgery for MTF's. Suddenly we're helping one another out by giving each other the parts we don't want. It would be great!
Quote from: Bastian on May 26, 2013, 09:16:58 PM
Just wanted to resurrect this because it's still so awesome. Was thinking more on this topic today and talking to my mom about it and she had a great idea. If it became possible to create both men parts (testes, penis, prostate, etc) and female bits (clit, ovaries, vagina, etc) then wouldn't it be great if we as the trans community became the donors for the other side? FTM's could donate their ovaries for example to the MTF's, so they had the scaffolding for ovaries and MTF's could be donating their penis', because this kind of development could eliminate the need to use the penis in surgery for MTF's. Suddenly we're helping one another out by giving each other the parts we don't want. It would be great!
Reminds me of one of my favorite bad movies - Re-Animator (1985)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089885/?ref_=sr_1 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089885/?ref_=sr_1)
Oooo, I've got to put this in my bad films blog entry!!
Has anyone heard of Dr Atala, (mentioned in the article posted here) who works in the USA? He has successfully grown a rabbit penis, in a petri dish, with 'organ printing' technology, which is somewhat similar to and different to scaffolding rebuilding concepts. The phallus was fully functional together with erotic sensate.
I don't know if this is accurate, but I found some reference to FDA trials, suggesting that he's put in applications for human trials. I wrote to his foundation (Wake Forest University), and did receive a reply, but they could give no timing or unequivocal position on progress.
1. http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/conditions/researchers-create-working-penises-for-rabbits-from-cells/article572660/?service=mobile (http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/conditions/researchers-create-working-penises-for-rabbits-from-cells/article572660/?service=mobile) Here's the URL to an example of the story (if u search for Atala and Rabbit Penis, you'll find a lot.
In regards to nerve sensate:
Also--have your heard of Foregen? That is a lobby group who are pushing for foreskin regeneration trials, for circumcised men. I suspect that you could do something with this for phalloplasty. That is, build the artificial phallus, and tack on nerve bundles.
F
....also,
I really just don't know why we have no microsurgery, allograft (organ transplant) options.
Firstly, organ harvesting with long wait lists, is for heart, lung, liver, kidney. They discard most of the rest! The phallus is wasted tissue. I just do not know why we have not started lobbying for access to organ donor programs for this option. Organ rejection drugs are very good these days (I have researched this as well, and spoken to organ transplant doctors). They don't shorten lives by poisoning the kidney, and there is one story of a woman who had some kind of immunoflushing prep technique that means she takes no organ rejection drugs at all (I'll find the URL if anyone wants a look :) )
I am trying to locate a micro surgeon who will do the work. I am told that all I need is a willing team of surgeons.
If anyone has ideas about how we can facilitate progress on these areas, please lets keep talking. I'm sure surgeons won't object! They'll get paid for it :) I've also written to microsurgery pique body here in Melbourne, and am waiting to hear back.
I'm sure governments would respond to collective voices. It wouldn't surprise me. In the UK, you get phalloplasty MTF or FTM for free on the national health scheme.
Kind Regards
Stav
(I'm going to Belgrade for phalloplasty, not my first choice, in August, after losing my genitals in a horrific incident. I'll upgrade when the organ printing technology comes online. Oh, btw, there are many organ printing experimental bodies popping up all over the world. We just got one here in Oz, actually in my city, Melbourne). I've looked in the US - there are quite a few of them there too.
And this one:
Modified Tamarind Seed extract (to make it a gel that sets at physiological temperature) has been used by Andrew Rodda, PhD (*student*) at Monash University to promote axonal nerve growth in damaged spinal nerve and *brain*. The technology is very very simple. I've read how he makes his gel, and had I a lab, I'd be able to do it myself. The gel protects neurons, very sensitive to damage by the process of inflammation (your immune response around a site of damaged tissue). They've found that when you smother a damaged nerve with this gel, the nerves actually grow back because our immune systems can't interfere with the healing.
Here's the URL for Andrew's work
http://www.eng.monash.edu.au/news/shownews.php?nid=33&year=2011 (http://www.eng.monash.edu.au/news/shownews.php?nid=33&year=2011)
I was looking at this technology, for erotic sensate recovery in the neophallus after phalloplasty.
Kind Regards
stav