Another main challenge was to reduce the risk of infections for the defenceless infant, which is where this fluid-filled sac comes in. The artificial amniotic sac is designed as a closed-fluid environment with continuous fluid exchange – so they are able to move fluid through the bag in a way that removes waste products and shields the infant from harmful bacteria they would otherwise be exposed to in a hospital.
The result? These extremely premature baby lambs were able to continue development, outside the womb, but with greater protection from the outside environment for up to four weeks. After that, they were transferred to regular ventilators.
“The lambs’ health on the ventilator appeared nearly as good as a lamb the same age that had just been delivered by cesarean section,” The Verge reports. “Then, the lambs were removed from the ventilator and all but one, which was developed enough to breathe on its own, were euthanized so the researchers could examine their organs. Their lungs and brains – the organ systems that are most vulnerable to damage in premature infants – looked uninjured and as developed as they should be in a lamb that grew in a mother.”
So, even though lambs are not humans, it looks like progress is being made. The authors of the study think it will be about three years before the first in-human trials begin.
Hannah Schenker is a freelance writer, editor and regular contributor to The Natural Parent Magazine. She lives with a touch of magic in Golden Bay, New Zealand.
The mother blood NEVER goes in the baby (unless damage ocurred to the placenta)