Regenerative medicine could save 30 children a year at GOSH

Using stem cells, the groundbreaking treatments include oesophageal and bladder regeneration.

Professor Paolo de Coppi’s research into regenerative medicine looks at the possibility of engineering or repairing tissue using a patient’s own stem cells. Stem cells are unspecialised or undifferentiated cells with the ability for self-renewal. This form of treatment reduces the risk of the body rejecting organs that have been transplanted and improves patient outcomes, such as reducing recovery time.

Using regenerative medicine, he is currently working to develop treatments for oesophageal atresia (where a child is born without an oesophagus), bladder regeneration and creating a new intestine. These treatments could help as many as 30 children a year at Great Ormond Street Hospital. 

The treatments require more preclinical work before benefiting patients, however, they have proven successful in animal studies. 

Paolo is Head of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Professor of Paediatric Surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Related links:

• Prof Paolo de Coppi