Joseph Turek

It's the idea that the thymus is growing up in the same environment as the new transplanted organ is what allows it to recognize it as' self.' If you just use the thymus and didn't culture it, you already have cells that would start to reject.

The idea that Kaitlyn Sinnamon could have a transplant and not have to be on these medications is really a... game-changer for patients with transplanted organs.

I think if that happens, this will be the way that most transplants are done in the future, and that'll be across all organs.

That's one of the things we're looking at in the laboratory, as well as to find out what is our suitable donor age. We believe it's probably going to be somewhere in early adulthood to where you would still have a viable thymus for transplant purposes.