A new kidney – free of daily meds

> “To say I was nervous — that’s an understatement,” says Okey, who received one of Quale’s kidneys followed by an infusion of her stem cells in 2018. Within months of the procedure, as hoped, tests showed that Quale’s cells had begun multiplying and circulating in Okey’s blood, and Okey was eventually weaned off her anti-rejection medications. Today, the only medication Okey takes is to help control her blood pressure.

> The initial phase required donors and recipients to be siblings and a “perfect,” or identical, match, meaning they have compatible blood types and other physiological compatibilities. Kaufman says that the initial trial’s success means that eligibility could soon be extended to living donor transplants of non-identical matches and eventually to recipients of organs from deceased donors.

It's mind-boggling all the things we can do with stem cells. I wonder what the next big breakthrough with them will be.