3D printing of human organs. By Alexandre KIELICH

Demand for transplants or grafts far exceeds supply. This leads to illegal organ harvesting. That is why researchers have begun to work on systems to create personalized organs.

Three-dimensional printers could “print” human structures: skin, bone, fatty tissue, or even complete organs, thanks to a bio-ink made up of the patient’s cells. These “bio-printers” will revolutionize medicine. Currently, eighty scientific teams all over the world are working on this project, and some firms have actually started to create living human cell tissues.

Organs, however, have very complex structures, in particular the vascular and nervous systems. Scientists are struggling to vascularize the synthetized organs.

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_bioprinting
http://organovo.com/science-technology/bioprinting-process/ 
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-12520951
http://www.science-et-vie.com/2016/02/la-construction-de-tissus-humains-par-imprimante-3d-devient-une-realite/ 
http://sites.arte.tv/futuremag/fr/les-promesses-de-la-bio-impression-futuremag

Alexandre KIELICH wants to work in the medical field.