3D Bioprinting Holds Hope for Transplant Patients

3D bioprinting could potentially help relieve the long backlog of patients waiting for organ transplants, and a number of organizations and companies are developing ways to create new organs out of printed human tissue.

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery and Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science are taming with bioprinting company Organovo to develop ways to print transplantable tissue.

The Yale/Organovo partnership is being sponsored by the Methuselah Foundation.

3D printed organs can be made from the patient’s own cells, which can reduce the risk of rejection. While fully functioning printed organs are still years away, Yale and Organovo believe that 3D printing could also be used to print tissue that would help keep failing organs functioning longer while patients await a transplant.

“We are excited to begin this collaboration with Organovo and are honored to be part of Methuselah’s University 3D Bioprinter Program, which gives our key researchers access to cutting-edge 3D bioprinting technology,” said Dr. John Geibel, Vice Chairman, Director of Surgical Research, and Professor of Surgery and Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University. “This collaboration is a great way to bring the best minds of both worlds to solve a major research and medical goal – using bioprinting to produce transplantable tissues.”

Under Methuselah’s University 3D Bioprinter Program, the foundation is donating at least $500,000 in direct funding to be divided among several institutions for Organovo bioprinter research projects. This funding will cover budgeted bioprinter costs, as well as other aspects of project execution.

Organovo made its first commercial tissue sale earlier this year when it began offering printed liver tissue to pharmaceutical laboratories for toxicity testing. Organovo’s system is based on its NovoGen Bioprinter.

“Developing organs for surgical implantation will take meaningful efforts and focused partnerships. This collaboration with Yale, which combines their expertise and technology with our own, is one important step in progressing towards implantable, therapeutic tissues,” said Keith Murphy, chairman and CEO of Organovo. “We are grateful to the Methuselah Foundation for their generous gift that gives those working towards significant breakthroughs in organ bioprinting an opportunity to use the NovoGen bioprinter and enable greater access to Organovo’s powerful platform.”

Source: Organovo