Researchers say they’ve successfully grown penises in a laboratory and are looking forward to testing them on humans within five years. But don’t expect the floodgates to open for penile enhancement based on the science.
Researcher Anthony Atala and colleagues at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine envision the lab-grown penises being used by people with congenital abnormalities due to surgery for aggressive cancer or traumatic injuries.
A major breakthrough in the research is a new method that decreases the odds of immunological rejection.
The donor penis is soaked in a mild detergent of enzymes for a couple of weeks to wash away the previous cells. Then, cells from what remains of the person’s original penis are cultivated in the lab, and eventually these are seeded with the donor penis.
In the short term, smaller lengths would be grown for partially damaged penises, while replacing parts of the penis could be used to help cure erectile dysfunction.
“In the end we’re aiming for the entire size of the organ. But in reality our first target is going to be partial replacement of the organ,” Atala said.
The procedure could potentially revolutionize current penile reconstructive methods and the U.S. Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine hopes to use the technology to help soldiers who sustained serious battlefield injuries.
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