The future of transplantation
Printing 3D organs
3D printing human organs
There is a base material to build something in 3D.
Printed organ transplantation
3D printing is being used by several hospitals as a surgery aid, particularly for complex procedures like hip replacements and organ transplants.
The researchers at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine - let us know from 2011 that they managed to obtain a kidney using this technology.
The first transplant of an 3D organ was performed in november 2015.
“At four months old, Lucy Boucher suffered heart failure which starved her kidneys of oxygen. She was told she would need to have kidney dialysis for life, until surgeons at London's Guy's and St Thomas' and Great Ormond Street Hospital performed the transplant. To conduct the transplant, for which Lucy's father Chris, 35, donated his kidney, the surgeons made detailed models of Mr Boucher's kidney and Lucy's abdomen with a 3D printer, so they could map out the procedure with precision, hence minimising risks.”
In 2014, a surgeon used the technology to create a new pelvis for a man who had lost half his original one to cancer.
In April last year, bioprinting firm Organovo went one step further and announced that they had 3D printed the first human kidney cell tissue, which helps the researchers in drug testing.