More than 50 sheep and pigs have been implanted with human-animal hybrid embryos with the aim of them developing into fully functional human hearts, livers and other major organs.

But there are a few big problems scientists have to solve before their organ-incubating idea becomes a reality. First, they need to develop organ-growing sheep embryos for more than 28 days.

Human-sheep hybrids have been created by scientists for the first time, opening the door to organs being grown inside the farmyard animals for use in transplants or to cure diabetes.

For one thing, pig and sheep organs are similar in size and shape to an adult human’s. And, since they grow relatively quickly, certain organs can be essentially grown to order.

He noted a sheep can grow from one cell to 200 pounds in 9-10 months compared with one human cell to a nine-pound human baby during the same time. And because the organs are grown from patients ...

News Martin Bagot Health and Science Editor 21:18, 17 Feb 2018 Updated 15:54, 19 Feb 2018 Scientists will grow human organs in sheep (Image: Daily Post Wales) ...

The scientists were able to create the sheep-human hybrid by introducing human stem cells into the sheep embryos. The chimaera thus formed was more than 99 per cent sheep and a little bit human.

Two of the sheep who resumed hormone production are still "cyclic" after four years, Dr. Arav said by phone from near Tel Aviv.

Being able to take hearts from piglets could also save the lives of seriously ill children who are over-represented in transplant waiting lists because there are so few child organs. The research ...