Hair Cloning Research for Hair Transplant Procedures

The future of hair transplant procedures is in the laboratories at this very time. Scientists are working together to find a way to make the surgery work for more people. They also want to see it work better for the types of people who have hair transplants today. One area of research is hair cloning.

Hair cloning promises to be a revolutionary procedure that would give people with little hair a chance to have hair transplant surgeries. It would do this by multiplying the hair a patient already has rather than using up the good hair that still exists on the patient's head.

Hair cloning is done by taking stem cells, or dermal papilla cell, and cloning them in a laboratory setting. They are then multiplied and combined. The end result is an increase in the number of hairs available for hair transplant.

Not only is hair cloning possible, it has been proven in many scientific studies. Recently one group of researchers did a culture whereby they multiplied the number of dermal papilla cells. With this being possible, hair cloning is a single step away.

Hair transplant procedures that use cloned hair are farther off, though. The research cannot be done as to whether these hairs can safely and effectively be transplanted onto a person's scalp yet. First, they cloning process will have to be completely perfected. Only then can the hair transplant trials begin.

More research needs to be done to find out which hair cells can be used for hair cloning and then hair transplant procedures. Some of the available cells go through several stages before ending in cell death in a very short time. These cells would not be adequate for use with hair transplant surgery. There seem to be other cells which last longer and would work for this application.

A scientist named Dr. Gho has done some work and acquired a Dutch patent on his work with hair multiplication. It is unclear whether this is much like hair cloning or not. That is because Dr. Gho neglects to submit his findings to be published in medical journals. Without review by other doctors, Gho's theories cannot be tried and evaluated.

Certain types of auto-immune diseases, such as alopecia areata can now be treated by means of hair transplant techniques by using the donor strip method. Yet, in the future, hair cloning will make hair transplant easier for these people who often have very little hair to use for grafts.

Some people believe that hair transplant grafts using cloned hair would be about the same cost as the usual hair transplants that are available today. Other experts believe that the price will be much higher - perhaps three or four times per graft higher - because of the specialized methods required to do the work.

Hair cloning is probably not as far away as one might think. It might be ready for use with hair transplant procedures as soon as five years from now, or even sooner. If you are considering getting a hair transplant but you want to wait awhile, hair cloning is something to think about.