Summary of the Article in Nature.

Dekel B, Burakova T, Arditti FD, Reich-Zeliger S, Milstein O, Aviel-Ronen S, Rechavi G, Friedman N, Kaminski N, Passwell JH, Reisner Y. Human and porcine early kidney precursors as a new source for transplantation.  Nature Medicine 2003; 9(1):53-60.

Kidney transplantation has been one of the major medical advances of the past 30 years; however, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the supply of organs is limited and will not improve with current medical practice. Recently, we have grafted precursors of the adult kidney found in embryos and fetal tissue into murine hosts to examine their feasibility as an alternative source for renal transplantation. When obtained at specific time points during human or pig gestation, kidney precursors meet with specific demands; they grow tremendously, differentiate exclusively along the nephric lineage with no evidence of malignant transformation, become vascularised, to a larger extent, by host vessels, and produce urine in host animals. In addition, they are also immune privileged compared to adult counterparts.

These findings might eventually be translated into organogenesis for purposes of organ replacement.