Succeeded in raising sheep's fetus at artificial uterus "Biobag"

There was an announcement that he succeeded in raising the fetus of the sheep using the artificial uterus like a huge zip rock. This technology is said to be intended for use in human fetuses.

An extra-uterine system to physiologically support the extreme premature lamb: Nature Communications
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15112

An artificial womb successfully grew baby sheep - and humans could be next - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/25/15421734/artificial-womb-fetus-biobag-uterus-lamb-sheep-birth-premie-preterm-infant

The fetus who entered a bag like a big Ziploc to which a tube for sending blood was connected was from the following movie. The fetus has been raised in the artificial uterus for 4 weeks, and the lungs and brain are growing without problems. The fetus begins to grow hair, sometimes it opens its eyes and sees the surroundings.

According to Alan Flake, a surgeon at the Philadelphia Children's Hospital who leads the study, the artificial uterus called "Biobag" is not to nurture the initial fetus on behalf of the mother, but rather to replace the child born several months earlier than the scheduled date It is meant to be raised in an environment close to the mother's womb. When children born as premature babies are brought up in an intensive care unit, there are cases in which there is a case of a malfunction due to poor growth of the organ system.

Biobag's appearance does not seem very like a womb, but it contains electrolyte solutions that are very similar to amniotic fluids, and that a system for circulating blood and oxygen and carbon dioxide is also built in about.


Development of an artificial uterus to raise premature infants in a more natural environment is a challenge that scientists are working on for decades. One of the most difficult things is reproducing the circulation system that connects the mother and the fetus, it is necessary to exchange the mother's blood to the fetus and exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, but when using the externally attached pump, the fetus He said there was a possibility of damaging his heart.

In this study Flake and Mr. developed a circulation system without a pump and connected a totally new oxygen supply device and a fetal umbilical blood vessel. This made it possible to circulate blood smoothly without hurting the heart of the fetus. However, there are still points to consider, such as the dangers of infectious diseases.

This time, Mr. Flake and Mr. Flake succeeded in growing a fetus grown 105 to 120 days in the mother's uterus for 4 weeks. This seems to be equivalent to a fetus raised in the mother's womb for 22 to 24 weeks in human beings.


Of course, there is a big difference between the sheep and the human including the developmental speed of the brain, and it is not immediate human beings can use Biobag, because the sheep grew safely. Premature birth is a very complicated thing, and there are also concerns that Biobag is received by people like bullet medicine.