The Scope of Stem Cell Transplantation in Tissue and Organ Regeneration: Myth or Reality?

Transplantation of stem cells to regenerate and repair damaged organs offers promising scope for treating various debilitating diseases and is a feasible alternative to organ transplantation, owing to the ability of stem cells to repopulate the engrafted site by differentiation or trans-differentiation. However, before stem cell-based therapies could be transferred to clinic many challenges such as controlling the self-renewal, differentiation efficiency, and integration of engrafted stem cells or differentiated cells to the host milieu need to be optimized. In this review, we summarize strategies that have been used in stem cell-based regenerative medicine and in particular, feasibility of stem cell therapies in restoring damaged tissue and organs.