The bioengineering of exogenic organs and/or cells for use in regenerative medicine

The potential for developing gene therapy technologies is evident from the recent surge in research activity. The use of these emerging technologies, along with blastocyst complementation, could greatly enhance our ability to produce exogenic organs and cells in a relatively short period of time. Furthermore, the generation of human-animal organ chimeras, together with their associated vasculature, could be developed to overcome the global problem of organ shortage for transplantation, as well as complications associated with immune rejection. It will be imperative that we understand the underlying conditions for stem cell growth in a developmental environment, to determine if cross-species chimeras can be therapeutically developed. Importantly, the combination of gene editing and blastocyst complementation has created an entirely new and exciting field of medicine, one that we envision will have a critical role for precision medicine.