January 5th 2024.
Something out of a science fiction novel, but scientists have developed an artificial womb that could save premature babies as soon as this year. A team from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have created the bizarre-looking bag to mimic the fluid-filled environment babies experience in the womb, where they are breathing in liquid, not air.
The aim of the artificial womb is to allow premature babies to keep growing until their lungs are more formed and ready to breathe air. Dr Emily Partridge said, “The idea is to bridge the rough patch when they’re really struggling and carry them through to a point when they can do okay.”
Extremely premature babies are those born before 28 weeks of the roughly 40-week pregnancy. In the UK, around 6% of babies are born at this time, and before 22 weeks the chance of survival is almost zero. To test their new device, the team used preterm lambs born between 106 and 113 days, the equivalent of a baby born at around 23 or 24 weeks.
The lambs were placed in the artificial womb and their umbilical cords were hooked up to an oxygenator, which pumped blood into the animal as would happen naturally. The fluid, made in the lab to mimic the amniotic fluid in the womb, then allowed the lamb to ‘breathe’ normally. The trials were so successful that the team is now seeking approval to test the device in humans.
The lambs demonstrated normal or increased movement, sleep/wake cycles, intermittent breathing and swallowing, and generally appeared comfortable and non-distressed. They also continued to develop healthy lungs, brains and other organs. The US Food and Drug Administration is now considering whether human trials can go ahead.
The artificial womb replicates the environment of a uterus, but some ethical dilemmas have been raised such as the high-pressure and emotional setting of preterm birth which may not allow parents to give fully formed consent to the trial. Yale University’s Mark Mercurio raised the issue, but added that he thinks the artificial womb’s potential benefits could outweigh the risks in very early births.
Dr Emily Partridge said, “One thing the project has taught me is never give up. You’ve got to keep going, keep going until it works.” However, something it won’t do is allow babies to be grown entirely in the lab. Dr Alan Flake, one of the team members, has previously described this as “nothing more than a technically and developmentally naïve, yet sensationally speculative, pipe dream.”
This artificial womb could potentially be a life-changing device for premature babies and their families. With the US Food and Drug Administration considering whether human trials can go ahead, it is an exciting development in medical technology.
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