Scientists have developed lab-grown penises to help men who have congenital abnormalities or suffered a traumatic injuries, the Observer has reported.
The engineered penises were developed by researchers at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina, USA, and are currently awaiting approval to be tested on humans.
The work is funded by the US Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which hopes to use the technology to help soldiers with battlefield injuries. Professor Anthony Atala, director of the institute, told the Observer the target is to get the organs into patients with injuries or congenital abnormalities. The penises would be grown using a patient’s own cells to avoid the risk of immunological rejection after organ transplantation.
Atala previously led a successful project engineering penises for rabbits in 2008. The previous work on rabbits showed that once the tissue was there the body recognises it as its own.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!