Scientists have successfully implanted vaginas grown in laboratories into four teenage girls who have a congenital condition which meant their own did not develop properly.
The artificial vaginas, engineered from the patient’s own cells and individually made to fit them, allowed the young women to later have full sex lives. As well as being a breakthrough in vaginal reconstruction, the US and Mexican scientists responsible for the procedures said it potentially meant other tissues or organs could be laboratory grown and implanted.
Study and press releases – 11 April 2014:
- Tissue-engineered autologous vaginal organs in patients: a pilot cohort study, The Lancet, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60542-0.
- Doctors implant lab-grown vagina, BBC News, health-26885335.
- Vaginas grown in labs successfully implanted into girls with rare disorder, The Guardian, Sexual health.
- Lab-grown vaginas prove long-term success for four women born without one, The Independent, Science.