International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Maternal and newborn health researchers have made headway towards their aim of using stem cells in amniotic fluid to create heart tissue in time for an infant's arrival when a defect in the muscle is spotted in utero.

The scientists at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital in the US, led by bioengineer Jeffrey Jacot, explained there would be no risk of rejection of the transplant because it would be a genetic match to the child.

Using cells from women having treatment for twin-twin transfusion syndrome, the researchers found they were able to create tissue very quickly.

Mr Jacot explained this is a critical factor, as infants with heart defects need to be helped soon after birth.

"We could more than grow an entire heart by birth," he claimed. "It gives us confidence that we will be able to quickly grow patches of tissue outside of the body that can then be sewn inside."

The team's findings, which were published online in the journal Tissue Engineering Part A, come after recent research in the journal Heart showed pregnant women who are overweight and smoke are more likely to give birth to children with heart defects than those who are either obese or a tobacco user but not both.

Posted by Alexandra George