Is 3D bioprinting the future of medicine?

By Neelabja Adkuloo

Bioprinting is not a new concept. It has existed since the early 2000s. The goal of 3D bioprinting is to transform the world of medicine in the foreseeable future. Within the next 20 years, it is believed that bioprinting could be used to produce organs that are fit for human transplantation.

Utilities of bioprinting

The global organ transplant crisis requires our immediate attention. Around 49,000 people have had to wait for an organ transplant in the UK in the past 10 years. Out of those, more than 6,000 people have passed away whilst waiting for a transplant. It goes without saying that their death could have been prevented had the organs been available. The reason behind lack of organs in the UK can be owed to an ageing population.

The technique utilises bio-ink, the liquid into which human cells can be mixed and then 3D printed with a special machine. The bio-ink is manufactured using cellulose sourced from forests and alginate formed from seaweed. It contains 99% water to help maintain the shape of the cell which fuses with the ink to form a living tissue. Different inkjets can lay different cells.

The cells can form the required organ or the structure by self-incubating and wash the gel away. The technique is very convenient. Experts in the field predict that bioprinting will help solve a worldwide shortfall in organs available for transplants.

Bioprinting can save many lives

This possibility opens up several ethical issues. Scientists are pushing the limits of what is normally considered natural and morally correct. “A lot of people could think that bioprinting is playing God,” admits an expert.

3D bioprinting significantly reduces the number of preventable deaths and additionally, the waiting time for patients requiring a transplant. It will additionally facilitate the creation of organs or tissues specific to an individual, thus considerably reducing the chance of organ or tissue rejection. More than 15% of patients requiring kidney transplant reject the kidney that is transferred to their body, thus resulting in major health issues.

Present developments and challenges

In case a person’s bone is damaged or requires replacement, bioprinting can print the bone using the patient’s scans. In another case, if a person’s skin gets burnt, the same mechanism can print the skin using the existing healthy tissue. This technique would significantly reduce the production of wounds and also the healing time. It is thus established that bioprinting aids in organ transplant, replacing burnt skin, hip replacement and osteoporosis surgery.

Several problems surround this technology. One, if the mechanism can be used to replace body parts, chances are that it can also be misused to upgrade the human body parts with “abnormal capabilities.” Athletes could potentially abuse bioprinting to improve their performance artificially. The second challenge that presents itself is the safety of fusing naturally-grown tissue with the 3D-printed tissue. The third hurdle is creating a blood supply to the organs. Typically, thousands of capillaries keep the human cells alive by providing them with oxygen and nutrients. They also help in removal of the waste products. Without the capillaries, organs will fail to survive. Bioprinting takes an innovative approach to this issue. The mechanism uses tiny fibres coated with cells as a mould in place of capillaries. Once the fibres are removed, they leave behind a network of capillaries using which bioprinting is carried out. The fourth and final challenge is the human/nature opposition. The extent to which scientists are interfering with the human body poses some serious questions.

Bioprinting: A reality

Currently, bioprinting is focused on creating skin cells and cartilage suitable for testing drugs and cosmetics. A Swedish company named Cellink is already using bioprinting to print human body parts, as reported in November this year. According to the company, skincare giants such as L’Oreal are using their live skin tissue models in tests for new products such as sun cream. The firm aims to place their products in every laboratory around the world within the next 20 years.

While this is happening, new treatments are being examined on the 3D printed tissue and the impact is being simultaneously evaluated. This process of drug discovery is expected to produce relatively realistic models of what happens at the cellular level. This way, the clinical trials will speed up. The long-term plan of bioprinting is to eradicate the number of failures and animal trials for pharmaceuticals and cosmetic companies.

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