New Medical Research shows that 3-D printing can be used to reproduce human cells by bio-printing blood vessels and human tissue. Medical Research has shown that 3-D printing of the tissue can be a new invasive treatment for individuals that need rapid acting, life-saving treatment and the most cost effective option. There are a variety of different types of 3-D printers. However, with each 3-D printer they each produce their own unique and distinct objects. The usage of each 3-D printer differs from one another. In the terms of bio-printing its provides many benefits such as providing the production of medication, or a tissue. Furthermore 3-D printing can be also used for educational purposes, such as adding 3-D printing to the curriculum …show more content…
As a result, a researcher from Wake Forest University named Professor Anthony Atala did a TED talk in 2011 on a demonstration on how to print a living human kidney, in which after the demonstration caused confusion in the crowd due to the research being in the early research stage and has never been previously used for a viable organ transplant (Lipson and Kurman 7). The TED talk demonstration was the world’s first introduction to the use of bio-printing viable organs for possible transplantation. In consideration of the TED talk, researchers have begun to harvest stem cells to 3-D print, in hopes to integrate with the existing tissue to produce viable organs and other body parts (Griggs 8). The bio-printing process has begun to have some success with clinical trials. In 2013, a surgeon named Doctor Paolo Macchiarini had a patient that is a 2-year old girl named Hannah from Illinois, who was born without a trachea (Griggs 9). Dr. Macchiarini created a bio-printed trachea from Hannah’s own stem cells and bone marrow, after in which he performed the 9-hour operation (Griggs 9). As a result, Dr. Macchiarini allowed Hannah to breath on her own and he will monitor her throughout her life, but for right now she is responding well to the transplant (Sifferlin 2). In result, bio-printing may begin to save and improve a lot of individuals’ life. Since, each day 18 people die in the …show more content…
According to Spiewak, the advantages of bio-printing are the ability to integrate vascularization, ability to generate tissue, controlled delivery of growth genes, precise patterning of cells, ability to co-culture multiple cell types locally, enables fabrication of anatomically correct shapes, along with allowing fabrication of porous structures (18). On the flip side, some ethical concerns that many individuals may have on research are the cost, production control, complications, and the organs made with nonhuman cells (Griggs 20). Individuals may believe that bio-printing may be expensive and only will qualify for the wealthy. However, that can’t be determined since the medical research of bio-printing organs is still in the beginning stage and is years of a way of production of a viable organ for transplantation. Sifferlin notes Dr. Macchiarini research that “he plans to conduct a clinical trial to properly assess the risks and benefits of the procedure, and document how bodies react to the transplanted devices. Hopefully those trials will show that it's possible to regenerate not just organs but hope as well.” (13.) Every major surgery of course comes with a risk; however, every individual has the right to take on the risk if they please. Most individual will not be concerned with the ethical concerns, since saving human life surely outweighs every
Tissue engineering is an emerging interdisciplinary field that uses principles from engineering, biology and chemistry in an effort towards tissue regeneration. The main draw of tissue engineering is the regeneration of a patient’s own tissues and organs free from low biofunctionality and poor biocompatibility and serious immune rejection. As medical care continues to improve and life expectancy continues to grow, organ shortages become more problematic.(Manufacturing living things) According to organdonor.gov, a patient is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes and an average of 18 people die everyday waiting for an organ donation. The “nirvana” of tissue engineering is to replace the need for organ donation altogether. This could be achieved using scaffolding from
The field of bioprinting, using 3D printing technology for producing live cells with extreme accuracy, could be the answer to many of the problems we as humans face in the medical field. It could be the end to organ waiting lists and an alternative for organ transplants. In 3D printing technology lies the potential to replace the testing of new drugs on animals. However, the idea of applying 3 dimensional printing to the health industry is still quite new and yet to have a major impact. Manufacturing working 3D organs remains an enormous challenge, but in theory could solve major issues present today.
As such, with more government funding into the medical field, technology like the 3-D printer could one day develop into the future of all organ transplants. This process may happen sooner
Secondly, advanced 3D printing applied to the medical field can be utilized in an Engels non capitalist technology drive society to impact the area of safety. In this utopian society, advanced 3D printing will have the capabilities to print synthetic tissue and organic tissue that can bond to the patient’s cells. In effect, this helps the patient’s wound heal faster. This type of advanced 3D bio printing can save many lives
I watched Anthony Atala’s speech “Growing new organs” in TED Talks, and was convinced by Anthony that even engineered organ was very a controversial topic, it still brought benefits to patients who need tissue replacement. Anthony’s strongest delivery attribute was his language choices. He opened his speech by showing a story and research statistics of organ transplantation. For example, he pointed out: “every 30 seconds, a patient dies form diseases that could be treated with tissue replacement.” Anthony used the story and number wisely because he caught my attention and brought my interest to his speech. Also, Anthony used examples and stories of his own experience as a surgeon and a researcher. He not only established his credibility, but
An average of 16 people die in Europe each day without getting the organ they need to survive. 22 people die each day in the United States without getting the organ they need, too. All of these people who die are waiting for organs such like a liver, heart, and other organs that will help keep them alive. The scientists looked at the statistics and wanted to start to develop new organs and body parts to save the patients that are waiting for them. The scientists thought they could start by growing them in a laboratory and make them out of stem cells. They have been struggling with the development of the organs and the progress has been slowed. Other scientists have another theory in how to create a fully functioning organ. They think that everyone should let nature take over and let evolutions happen. Evolutions has helped cells adapt to outside environments and turned our cells into complex molecules that help us survive. The scientists also think that they could use an animal's’ kidney, liver, lungs, heart, and other organs that are useful to keep ourselves alive. Those organs can come from animals, like pigs, because they have somewhat the same kind of organs we have. The only problem that can occur during the operation is that, when you use transfer the heart from a pig, or another animal, our immune system will reject the transplant. People who have been studying about growing human
As of 2016, 81.8% of the organs people are waiting for are kidneys (Organ Donation Statistics). Morally, the stem cells that would be taken for printing or replication should be used with consent, meaning they are not taken from a baby, alive or deceased. Of course, extensive research would have to be done before using 3-D printed organs for transplants and be FDA approved, but if people are desperate enough to turn to the black-market, using those people for clinical trials would be more productive and actually
Doctors and engineers have been working on another way to get organs a faster and more efficient way. Using 3D printers can help with their problem. They have worked on using a 3D printer to make organs that are a perfect match for patients. This can be very useful it can get an organ ready in a short amount of time helping the patient recovery faster as well. Organ transplants are hard to come by. One you have to be put in a waiting list, and people are usually on that list for a long while, just waiting for a perfect match to come. But sometimes it takes to long and some people die while still on the waiting list. But when an organ finally does come they feel bad because someone had to die in order for them to use it. So Dr Ali Khademhosseini is trying to use 3D printing to help solve this problem. His theory is he can make organs from a 3D printer, which can make the waiting list decrease faster and have people not have to die in order for a perfect match. 3D printers have been used to make Human cells, tissue, and blood vessels. But making something like a heart is much more difficult. Because you have to make the beating and pumps. (Mesley). There have been problems in the past that have just know started to show in some people. "Viruses aren't the only worry, and here too the past may serve as a guide. In 1956 injections of human growth hormone became a standard therapy for children failing to develop properly. The hormone was extracted from
In the past, the only way to replace diminished cells, tissues, and organs was from organ transplantation. An organ donor was needed, and the tissues would be surgically removed from the donated body and placed into the recipient. Due to the current research being conducted, it is believed that tissue engineering and organ printing can contribute to the process of improving and saving lives.
Thesis: Cloning is faced with many critics due to its questionable ethics, but there are, in fact, many benefits to this technology, such as using STEM cells to recreate damaged tissue or solving problems in an
Kaiba Gionfriddo was born prematurely in 2011. After 8 months, his lung development caused concerns, although he was sent home with his parents as his breathing was normal. Six weeks later, Kaiba stopped breathing and turned blue. He was diagnosed with tracheobronchomalacia, a long Latin word that means his that windpipe was so weak that it collapsed. He had a tracheostomy and was put on a ventilator – the conventional treatment. Still, Kaiba would stop breathing almost daily. His heart would stop, too. Then, his caregivers 3D printed a bioresorbable device that instantly helped Kaiba breathe. This case is considered a prime example of how customized 3D printing is transforming healthcare as
Thump, thump… thump, thump… thump, thump. That is the sound of Nature’s most perfect machine, the human heart. It epitomizes the idea of natural engineering through its complexity and contribution to the vessel that holds it. But, can it be synthesized by the species that possesses and depends upon it? With the emerging 3D printing technology in the field of regenerative medicine, the answer may very well be yes. However, a question to consider before humanity embarks on this endeavour: do the life-saving advantages outweigh the various disadvantages?
In the United States, 122,737 patients are on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) list that are in need of lifesaving organs. With the current UNOS system, nearly 3,300 patients are expiring every year waiting for kidney transplants, let alone the other organs needed (Foundation, 2014). The length of time and money the process takes to procure an organ from a cadaver could be nearly done away with using bioengineered organs rather than procurement. Forms of Bioengineering are done with the use of matrices alone in which the body’s natural regenerative properties correct the issue, or using matrices embedded with undifferentiated cells. With the use of Bioengineering organs of one’s own, stem cell onto matrices could reduce or eliminate the use of immunosuppressant. Bioengineering organs can change the health care by reducing the cost of care, shortening the wait for transplantation, and extending the life of the recipient. Results Many of the patients with end-stage organ failure were going untreated or minimal treatment due to the lack of insurance. In 2010 that changed when President Obama signed the health care reform act, which is expanding coverages and limiting the growth in health care cost while reforming the delivery and insurance system. Prior to the Health Care Reform Act, individuals, that had an illness could not change jobs due the fact of being ineligible for
“A revolutionary procedure involving a patient’s own stem cells has allowed British researchers to grow artificial body parts in their lab, including noses, ears, tear ducts, and blood vessels, which they can then reattach to the patient’s body” (Weller). The parts are made of polymer material that includes a scaffolding mold and stem cell samples that were taken from a patient’s fat. There are quite a few benefits of this. If a patient was born without an organ they could grow a new one instead of needing an organ donation. If someone’s organs died then they could grow new ones. Even though there are quite a few detriments also. Some church groups could be against this. The organs that they grow could fail or not take to someone’s body.
With the very limited supply of organs, 3D printing creates functioning organs without a donation from a living organism. The definition of 3D printing from Charles W. Hull, the inventor of 3D systems, states that “...thin layers of a material that can be cured with ultraviolet light were sequentially printed in layers to form a solid 3D structure” (Murphy & Atala 773). The sheer narrow sheets play a vital role in bioprinting. They allow the printers to develop functional, layering individual cells, proteins, and an extracellular matrix. The three basic types of 3D printing include biomimicry, independent self- assembly, and miniature tissue blocks. The creation of the 3D structure creates all the difference between these types of printing. Three dimensional structure approaches include, creating exact duplicates of the cells and tissues with extensive knowledge, using a developing embryo as a template or using microscopic tissues to assemble into a larger developed tissue (Kalaskar). In other words, all these paths to bioprinting end up with a 3D structure but require different knowledge and materials. They all contain their own sets of challenges.