“In the aftermath of a propane explosion at her mother’s house in Savannah, Ga., in 2021, Marcella Townsend spent more than six weeks in an induced coma in a burn trauma unit. She had second- and third-degree burns over most of her body, and her face had become unrecognizable. Searching for a way to help her, surgeons turned to a rarely utilized tool: human placenta. They carefully applied a thin layer of the donated organ to her face, which Ms. Townsend said was ‘the best thing they could have done, ever.’ She still has scars from grafts elsewhere on her body, but the 47-year-old’s face, she said, ‘looks exactly like it did before’”, reports the New York Times:
During pregnancy, the placenta forms in the uterus, where it provides the fetus with nutrients and antibodies, and protects it from viruses and toxins. Then, it follows the baby from the body, still filled with a wealth of stem cells, collagens and cytokines that doctors and researchers have realized make it uniquely useful after birth, too.
Research has found placenta-derived grafts can reduce pain and inflammation, heal burns, prevent the formation of scar tissue and adhesions around surgical sites and even restore vision. They’re also gaining popularity as a treatment for the widespread issue of chronic wounds. And yet, of the roughly 3.5 million placentas delivered in the United States each year, most still wind up in biohazard disposal bags or hospital incinerators…
Decades ago, the medical community moved away from placenta usage due in part to fears brought on by the AIDS epidemic. Now, some doctors and researchers are arguing that the shift was misguided, and that the placenta is an underused medical tool hiding in plain sight. Because the placenta protects the fetus from the maternal immune system, its tissue is considered immunologically privileged: Even though it’s technically foreign tissue, placental grafts have been found not to prompt an immune response in transplant recipients. That means, unlike skin grafts from animals or cadavers, placental grafts are basically not rejectable.
A man received the world’s first whole-eye and face transplant in an operation at NYU Langone Health. A woman received her sister’s womb in the first womb transplant in the United Kingdom.
A monkey survived for two years on a gene-edited pig-kidney transplant.
Scientists have engineered a virus to steal proteins from the HIV virus, which could potentially be used to eliminate AIDS.
A virus is being used to cure deafness in new gene therapy.
A genetically-modified chicken lays eggs that people allergic to eggs can eat. Scientists have genetically engineered a cow that produces human insulin in its milk.
Scientists have genetically engineered a fly species to eat more waste.
Genetic engineering recently produced pork that people who are allergic to pork can eat.
