3D Printed Organs  - 3D Printed Organ Replacement ‘The Next Big Thing’

The human body contains over 300 different organs that work together to make our existence possible. In order to live long enough to reproduce, we need to eat, drink, breathe, sleep, and digest food. All these processes require energy to function. Without sufficient energy, the body cannot sustain itself. When a person dies, their body stops providing energy to the cells that keep us alive. But what happens to those cells? What becomes of our bodies after death?

In today’s world where medical technology has become highly advanced, many people have questioned whether they will continue to exist after death. As humans, we all want to know if there is any afterlife for us, what it means, and how much time we have left before we die. If we do not know the answers to these questions, then we may feel hopeless about the future. However, science has shown that our physical body does not cease being active once it dies. Our brain continues to operate even after our heart stops beating.

Many scientists believe that our consciousness lives on, just waiting to move onto a new body. Others say that our consciousness merges with universal consciousness. Whatever the truth may be, we still have hope for survival. Many religions teach that we will be resurrected at some point in the future. Scientists are now studying how to prolong the lifespan of animals to increase the chances of finding out the answer.

As we delve deeper into the world of 3D printing, we find that this technology is constantly evolving. From printers that help you build things to printers that give you access to drugs, everything in the world of 3D-printing seems to be getting better. Researchers around the globe are working tirelessly to advance this field. More research is being conducted on how to effectively use 3D printing to preserve organs and other parts of the human body.

organs have been successfully created using 3D printers. Scientists are able to print each part of the human anatomy. The kidneys, lungs, liver, and other organs can be printed separately and assembled into the whole body. Once completed, researchers can study how well these organs perform. If successful, they might be able to save the lives of thousands of children who currently lack kidneys.

3D-printed organs

Israeli scientists have developed a method for printing human livers using stem cells and bioinks. The team at Tel Aviv University's Ben Gurion University School of Medicine recently announced success in using a bioprinter to print fully functional liver tissue in mice and rats after just three weeks. The research was publishing in Science Translational Medicine.

The team says they were able to produce liver tissue that consists of both hepatocytes --the liver cells that cleanse toxins--and non-parenchymal cells, which include blood vessels, nerves, and bile ducts. In addition to being more lifelike than existing methods, the researchers say their technique could provide surgeons with a way to produce personalised parts for patients whose bodies cannot accept donated organs.

3D-printed implants

Another Israeli team has created an artificial bone implant that can repair broken bones without any need for surgery. Researchers from Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Centre used a 3D printer to create a porous polymer scaffold infused with mineralized nanofibers. The material mimics cartilage and bone, making it ideal for repairing damaged joints.

In order to make sure the implant would fuse with the body after insertion, the team injected the scaffold with osteoinductive molecules called peptides. Previous studies have shown these molecules help encourage the formation of natural bone.

Researchers hope their invention could revolutionise orthopaedic medicine, potentially treating conditions including arthritis, injuries sustained in car accidents, sports injuries, and even deformities caused by birth defects.

3D-printed hearts

Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel may soon be able to use 3D printers to build human hearts for transplantation. Scientists led by Dr. Galit Lahav have been working on 3D printing liver cells and transplanting them into animals. Their latest experiment involved printing stem cells that differentiate into heart muscle cells. Afterward, the heart muscle grew and began beating. If successful, the goal would be to create a fully functioning organ through a combination of printing and testing.

Dr. Lahav predicts that once doctors have worked out how to best culture human stem cells, they'll be ready to start printing entire organs, including the lungs, kidneys, intestines, and livers. She added that she expects the technology to eventually allow people to replace missing organs with synthetic versions.

But that hasn’t stopped a few countries from doing this already! Here is a list of the top 5 countries that use 3D printed organs.

China

China is one of the first countries to implement 3D printing in the medical field. If you take a look at the hospital system in China, you will find that every single doctor possesses a 3D printer in order to print replacement parts for patients. In fact, the hospitals in Beijing alone employ over 1 million 3D printers! Not only do they use 3D printers to produce replacement limbs, but they also use them for producing pacemakers, artificial hearts, and even ear implants.

South Korea

South Korean scientists are currently working on creating an entire body made out of plastic and metal, but there is still a long way to go before this becomes reality. However, they have created bionic arms and legs that can move on their own and restore sight to blind people using bionic eyes. Their goal right now is to completely replace the human organs using the 3D printed replica method and then implant them into the body.

France

In 2016, French doctors successfully performed the first full face transplant using a 3D printed head. It took them three months to completely assemble the face but once completed the results were amazing. Not only did the patient look like themselves again but they no longer had the need for heavy scarring on the rest of their faces. Now, the team at Grenoble university hope to replicate this success and perform a successful hand transplant soon after.

Israel

Israel wants to print organs on demand to supply the shortage of donors worldwide. They believe that this will greatly increase the number of transplants that occur each year. A lot of people may turn away from this type of research due to ethical concerns or the fear of introducing foreign objects into the human body, but Israeli researchers insist that they are well aware of these risks.

Saudi Arabia

This was perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire list. Saudi Arabia banned the use of 3D printers six years ago, but it looks like they have recently changed their minds. An article on the Arab news network Al Bawaba claims that the king of Saudi Arabia wants bioengineers to work on 3D bioprinting technology. The technology to build a 3D body part using a patient’s cells is still under development though.