We met Sir Magdi and Prof. Simon P. Hoerstrup at the Royal Society of Medicine and asked about the Lifematrix research. Globally, one out of 100 children is born with a heart defect. Repeated surgery and lifelong medical treatment is often required, as the missing or damaged part of the heart is commonly replaced by artificial prosthetic materials without growth and regeneration capacity. As a consequence, current treatment modalities are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The project “LifeMatrix”, supported by the Wyss Translational Center Zurich, aims at the clinical translation of a novel, “off-the-shelf”, tissue engineered human matrix technology with growth and regeneration capacity for the treatment of children with congenital heart disease.

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