LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Swiss researchers say skin cells grown from an aborted fetus helped in the re-growth of normal skin in eight severely burned children.
The treatment performed at the University Hospital of Lausanne spared the children from skin grafts, The Washington Post reported. The researchers used cells from a fetus -- a 14-week male whose mother gave permission at the time of abortion, the report said.
The children were victims of second- and third-degree burns and the treatment helped them grow normal skin in about two weeks.
Scarring and tissue contraction seen after many burns did not occur, and dressing changes were easier and less painful, the researchers said.
The fetal tissue promotes growth of the patient's own skin cells rather than becoming incorporated into the recipient's skin as a true "graft." The report said.
The researchers indicated that a piece of fetal skin smaller than a postage stamp may be sufficient to produce enough cells to treat hundreds of patients. The study will appear in a future edition of the Lancet and was published online Thursday.
Several burn experts said the technique sounded promising, but its usefulness is not yet proved.
