This is a major leap toward personalized regenerative treatments for children born with life-threatening esophageal conditions and could pave the way for translation to other disease areas. Other studies have previously shown parts of this technology, but this is the first time that the full process has been completed with such success.

Published in Nature Biotechnology, the study shows for the first time that a pig donor esophagus can be decellularized, repopulated with the recipient’s pig’s own cells, and implanted in a growing, large-animal model to restore function without the need for immunosuppression.