Could new kidneys be grown from stem cells?

FUNCTIONAL kidneys have been grown inside rats in a move that could ease the organ donor shortage.

Scientists at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan took blastocysts (early stage embryos) from rats missing kidneys and injected them with stem cells — which have the ability to turn into multiple types of cell — from a normal mouse.

Then they implanted them into a pregnant rat, where they matured into normal foetuses with normal kidneys, say the researchers, who believe a similar approach could generate human kidneys for donation.