For the first time, human cells have been used to create a lab-grown liver.

It’s a milestone on the way to creating a new source of livers for transplant, Wake Forest University (WFU) researchers say.

Last June, a different research team reported growing a liver from animal cells. But if the goal is human transplants, fully human livers are likely to be safer and more effective, suggests project director Shay Soker, PhD, professor of regenerative medicine at WFU.

“We have focused on the clinical aspect of this by using human cells,” Soker tells WebMD. “We believe that the use of human cells will provide patients with the best solution for liver disease, compared with those that have used animal cells which are less safe.”

via First Human Liver Grown in Lab.