Scientists grow mini organs from cells shed by fetuses, which may pave the way for doctors to monitor and treat unborn babies’ health defects

Researchers have, for the first time, grown mini organs from tissue-specific stem cells taken from amniotic fluid in women’s wombs during active pregnancies

Scientists are excited – this could eventually help doctors monitor and treat congenital conditions before birth and develop therapies for babies in the womb

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The ability to grow mini organs from cells in amniotic fluid could make it possible to treat health defects in a fetus in the womb before it is born. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15pm, 12 Mar 2024

Scientists have created mini organs from cells floating in the fluid that surrounds a fetus in the womb – an advance they believe could open up new areas of prenatal medicine.

Mini organs, or organoids, are tiny, simplified structures that can be used to test new medical treatments or study how the real organs they mimic work, whether they are healthy or diseased.

Researchers from University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital in the United Kingdom collected cells from amniotic fluid samples taken during 12 pregnancies as part of routine prenatal testing. Then, for the first time, they grew mini organs from cells taken during active pregnancies.

They envision their approach could eventually help doctors monitor and treat congenital conditions before birth and develop personalised therapies for a baby in the womb.

Growing mini organs from cells in amniotic fluid takes about four to six weeks – enough time for prenatal therapy to fix problems doctors might find. Illustration: Shutterstock

“We’re really excited” about that possibility, said Mattia Gerli of University College London, an author of the new study published in the medical journal Nature Medicine.