Extra Cellular Matrix Dust: To Grow Back A Severed Finger In 4 Weeks

"I put my finger in," Lee Spievak says, pointing towards the propeller of a model airplane, "and that's when I sliced my finger off." It took the end right off, down to the bone, about half an inch. Today, Spievak, who is 69 years old, shows off his finger, and it's all there, tissue, nerves, nail, skin, even his finger print! It wasn't a transplant. Spievak re-grew his finger tip using a powder (Extra Cellular Matrix).



"I think that within ten years that we will have strategies that will re-grow the bones, and promote the growth of functional tissue around those bones ", said Dr Dr Stephen Badylak from the University of Pittsburgh. The process he has been pioneering over the last few years involves scraping the cells from the lining of a pig's bladder. The remaining tissue is then placed into acid, "cleaned" of all cells, and dried out. It can be turned into sheets, or a powder.

When the extra cellular matrix is put on a wound, scientists believe it stimulates cells in the tissue to grow rather than scar. If they can perfect the technique, it might mean one day they could repair not just a severed finger, but severely burnt skin, or even damaged organs.

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The man who grew a finger (BBC News)
'Pixie' dust helps finger grow (BBC News)