CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A discovery by University of Virginia Health System researchers could move doctors closer to regrowing tissue or other organs affected by the disease.

Researchers are making efforts to generate a specific type of cell faster and outside of the body.

These cells, called Hemogenic Endothelial cells, are the first step in the production line of blood cells. That opens doors for treating certain types of cells.

Endothelial cells are typically taken from an individual’s bone marrow, but now doctors want to be able to manufacture them quicker and easier for patients on demand.

“Our ultimate goal is trying to make human vascular blood cells so that they can be used to treat patients that need organ and tissue replacements, or for patients that are battling blood cancers,” said UVA’s Department of Cell Biology and Cardiovascular Research Center Dr. Karen Hirschi.

She says they’ve studied how these cells develop normally. Now they're learning how to speed up the process to develop more of them. Hirschi adds they can derive cells that form blood vessel structures, which will be valuable for patients needing an organ replacement.

“All tissues and organs are professed with blood vessels, so if you’re going to make a tissue replacement for a patient, they need to be vascularized,” she said.

Hirschi and her team revealed a key trigger that causes Endothelial cells to turn into blood-making factories, which is an acid typically associated with beauty products.

“It’s not the type of retinoic acid you would apply to your face, but it’s retinoic acid derived from Vitamin A in the body and then this retinoid acid signals to cells and helps them form blood cells and hemogenic endothelial cells,” she said.

Hirschi says this investigation could take a while, but they’re working hard to fit all the puzzle pieces together.

She adds her science paper was a collaboration with Stefania Nicoli’s lab at the Yale University School of Medicine.

For the full UVA Health press release, click here.