For Pippi's mother, the uncertainty is worth the cost and the risk even if it offers nothing more than further hope.

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In fact, Mia won't know if Pippi's new skin is attaching itself properly until he gently pulls back her bandages on Monday and each following day.

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Even when the skin does make it to the patient within 24 hours -- as it did for Pippi last Monday after a trans-Atlantic flight -- potential risks are many.

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After days on the Internet and hours reaching out to reconstructive specialists in the United States, Pippi's mother discovered a company in Boston called Genzyme whose specialty is growing layers of human skin by cloning a 2-square-centimeter sample from a patient.

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