Using Your Own Stem Cells to Grow New Skin

We subject it to harsh weather, pick at it, slather lotions onto it, yet we rarely give much thought to the complexity that makes up our skin…at least, not until something goes wrong. What happens when we hurt our skin so badly that it needs to be completely restored?  Well, that’s when research into growing replacement patches comes in handy.

Scientists, including those working at the Sunnybrook Research Institute, have been investigating new ways of treating patients with skin injuries. Their latest approach involves combining skin grafts with stem cells from the patient.

We’ve all heard of stem cells, but not all of them are created equally. The ones we had as fetuses are no longer with us. Nevertheless, all of us still have stem cells within our bodies – they’re located in different organs. These specialized stem cells are only able to regenerate tissues for that particular body part. In the case of burn patients, researchers are able to remove the patient’s skin stem cells and grow them in the lab. These patches are then used to treat their original donor. This way, there’s no chance of rejection. Now, if only researchers could give us back the skin we had as newborn babies…