Bio-artificial kidney. Bioreactor containing erythropoietin-producing kidney cells to be used in a bio-artificial kidney. A bio-artificial kidney is an artificial blood filtering device implanted in humans using cultured kidney cells. Erythropoietin is a hormone produced by the kidneys to stimulate red blood cell production. By using erythropoietin-producing cells in a bio- artificial kidney, patients should continue to produce red blood cells. This research was undertaken by David Humes' team in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Although prototype testing has been successful, it is likely to be years after 1997 before bio-artificial kidneys are available.