Progress in tissue engineering and organogenesis in transplantation medicine

Tissue engineering is an attempt to culture living tissues for surgical transplantation. In vitro and in vivo approaches have produced vascular and cardiovascular components, bone, cartilage, gastro-intestinal organs, and liver. Organogenesis is a different approach to create new organs for transplantation from embryonic tissue implanted into the omentum of the recipient. This technique has been employed in creating kidney and pancreas in animals. Tissue engineering and organogenesis are the future of transplantation medicine. The progress in this field is of tremendous importance because it can produce a new generation of morphologically complex tissues and organs. In this review article we have summarized the most relevant experiences in this area, including its perspectives for therapeutical applications.