A Porto researcher is developing a pioneering biotechnology that promises to revolutionize human organ transplantation. Rodrigo Val d’Oleiros e Silva is a dentist, studying Medicine, doing a PhD and is responsible for the OrgaValue project. The ambitious mission is to create 100% compatible organs and eliminate transplant waiting lists.
For now, the focus is on “liver transplantation”, but in the future it may cover other organs, such as the heart, kidney, pancreas, among others. According to Rodrigo Val d’Oleiros e Silva, the process consists of “using the discarded organs for biological waste due to lack of biocompatibility or another associated problem, as long as it is not a neoplastic or degenerative pathology.” The objective, he clarifies, is “to reactivate them by eliminating all the cells, leaving an acellular matrix that is then colonized with new cells from the patient who needs the transplant.”
The advantages of making “a personalized organ for each patient” are three: “As the cells belong to the person, there is no question of biocompatibility, nor do you have to wait years for an organ and you do not have to take immunosuppressants that cause a guarantee”.
Clinical laboratory tests are currently being carried out on animals, in collaboration with the Northern branch of the National Institute of Legal Medicine. Rodrigo Val d’Oleiros hopes that it will soon be extended to the Santo António and Curry Cabral hospitals to start human trials.
Rodrigo Val d’Oleiros has a degree in Dentistry, currently studying Medicine at the University of Minho and a PhD in Regenerative Medicine at the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto. At the same time, he is a researcher at the i3S-Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, having founded his project at the National Institute of Biomedical Engineering.
OrgaValue was awarded in the most recent Born from Knowledge (BfK) program, promoted by the National Innovation Agency. The BfK promotes, disseminates and celebrates the production of national knowledge and innovation, in particular through BfK Ideas, an ideas competition for higher education students and researchers, and the BfK Awards, which reward the best scientific and technological projects and ideas. in innovation contests. .
Source: TSF
