Engineered Heart Muscle Allografts for Heart Repair in Primates and Humans

Researchers have shown that patches of muscle grown from stem cells can help repair a failing heart. A laboratory-grown biological transplant with the potential to stabilize and strengthen the heart muscle can be implanted onto the heart surface. The treatment is not intended to replace the need for a full transplant but can assist people with advanced heart failure who are waiting for a heart transplant, bridging the time until a donor’s heart becomes available. In this clinical trial, the procedure was tested on a 46-year-old woman with heart failure who underwent an operation to implant 10 patches containing 400 million cells on the surface of her heart. Her condition remained stable for three months, allowing enough time for her to receive a heart transplant. Scientists who examined her explanted heart after the transplantation found that the implanted muscle patches had remained in place and formed blood vessels. So far, researchers have implanted similar muscle patches in 15 individuals.