A team led by University of Tokyo researchers has successfully created a healthy pancreas from mouse stem cells inside the body of a rat, in a first between different species, a study published in the British science journal Nature showed.
The pancreas, later transplanted into a mouse with diabetes, worked normally and led the disease symptoms to improve, marking the world's first case where an organ was created from a different type of animal and its transplantation proved effective in treatment, according to the researchers.
The study, published Wednesday, is a step toward creating human organs inside other animals, which will help address a shortage of donors. But technical and ethical challenges remain to realize the ultimate goal, such as the question of whether it is appropriate to use animals as organ makers.