On a work visit in Melbourne over the weekend I heard a news bulletin on the radio where researchers at St Vincent's Hospital and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) are working on developing human organs by building body cells layer by layer using a 3D printer.
The team has used the 3D printer to make body cells, including muscle cells, nervous systems cells and cartilage. Professor Mark Cook, director of neurosciences at St Vincent's Hospital, said 3D body part printing was like 'bubble jet printers'. "Instead of putting in ink for printing, you can put in these new materials which will grow tissues successfully," he said.
The process could eventually do away with the need for organ transplants. "It's possible to print devices and structures that can be implanted in human bodies, and these devices can have cells grown on them so that bodily functions can be replicated on these very tiny devices," he said. "In the future, these sorts of devices will be able to recreate parts of people's joints and bones, conceivably, in the future, even organs."
ACES director Professor Gordon Wallace said he believed it would be possible to manufacture living tissues like human skin, cartilage, arteries and heart valves which could be used in transplants and other operations within five years. By 2025, scientists could fabricate complete functional organs, tailored for an individual patient.
Using a patient's own cells to create this tissue avoids issues of immune rejection, Prof Wallace said. "It would have a great impact on people who are waiting for (organ) donors."
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