Sweden’s trial begins in stem cell windpipe transplant case
STOCKHOLM (AP) — An Italian surgeon who made headlines in 2011 for the world’s first stem-cell windpipe transplant at a major hospital in Sweden was charged Wednesday with aggravated assault against three of his patients.
Stem-cell scientist Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, once considered a pioneer in regenerative medicine, is credited with creating the world’s first windpipe, partly made from a patient’s own stem cells.
In December 2018, Sweden decided to reopen investigations already closed in three cases. Additional written evidence was obtained, and more interviews were conducted with individuals in Sweden, Belgium, Britain, the United States and Spain.
The former surgeon appeared before the Solna District Court on Wednesday but is expected to be the first witness on Friday. Swedish broadcaster SVT said their defense lawyer Björn Hertig believes Macchiarini’s former employer, Sweden’s prestigious Karolinska Institute, should be held responsible.
Macchiarini was fired from the Karolinska Institutet in March 2016 for violating medical ethics, accusing him of misrepresenting his resume and misrepresenting his work.
When Macchiarini’s first windpipe transplant was reported in 2008 in the medical journal Lancet, it was seen as a breakthrough in regenerative medicine. Macchiarini’s new airway – created partly using stem cells from a patient – was thought to herald a new era where new organs could be created in the laboratory.
Despite an independent commission in Sweden, which found many problems with Macchiarini’s work, the Lancet has so far refused to withdraw the study.
Macchiarini had previously disputed the allegations, calling them false.
He operated on Macchiarini to provide artificial respiration to 20 patients, including Spanish, Russian, Icelandic, UK and American critics, and US critics say Macchiarini abandoned medical ethics to perform dangerous procedures for no proven benefit. and he fabricated the details of his patients. ‘ conditions.
In 2019, an Italian court sentenced Macchiarini to 16 months in prison for forged documents and abuse of office.
