Scientists grow blood vessels for kidney patients

Washington: California researchers have developed a technique to grow artificial blood vessels from a patient's own skin cells, a technique that could quickly find application in kidney failure victims undergoing dialysis.

In the longer term, it also could be used in coronary artery bypass surgery and other procedures.

The technique has so far been tested in 10 patients and preliminary results, published yesterday in the international medical journal Lancet, suggest that the blood vessels can remain viable for long periods.

"This technology is very very promising," wrote Dr Vladimir Mironov of the Medical University of South Carolina in an editorial accompanying the report.

Some experts said the results suggested that doctors might one day be able to custom-produce blood vessels for patients with circulatory problems in their hearts or legs.