Scientists in the United Kingdom report they have made kidney tissue out of bone marrow cells, a breakthrough that may lead to new treatments for kidney damage or ultimately even allow scientists to regenerate new kidneys.

Researchers say the development may one day provide an alternative for the tens of thousands of patients awaiting kidney transplant surgery, enabling them to repair damaged kidneys rather than replacing them with donated organs.

"This discovery is very exciting and means we have new ways to treat kidney damage caused by cancer or other diseases," said Professor Nicholas Wright, head of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's histopathology unit and one of the scientists involved in the research.

Reporting in the Journal of Pathology, Wright said scientists analyzed female kidneys placed into male patients who had undergone bone marrow transplants. Using a special DNA probe that identifies male cells, they found male kidney cells that had originated in the bone marrow in the donated female kidneys.

Wright's team earlier had determined that bone marrow cells could turn into liver cells.

"Doctors could use stem cells from the patient's own bone marrow to replenish kidney cells lost by injury," Wright said. "This would be of huge benefit as the kidney is very poor at repairing itself. Furthermore, there would be much less complication with the kidneys rejecting the new cells, because they would come from the patient's own body."