The Science of Bioprinting Organs

Greetings to the STEMGeeks community,

It's @skyehi and I'm happy to share a blog about an amazing scientific and technological innovation in the broad field of medicine.

In today's blog post we're going to be discussing Bioprinting Human organs 101, how the process happens and the challenges or hurdles to overcome.

Original Image Source by fernandozhiminaicela from Pixabay

---

In a world with so many medical issues that scientists and doctors are trying to find drugs, surgical procedures and treatments to solve, I believe the possibility of making artificial organs will be a total game changer for us.

Imagine a world where we can literally create human organs on-demand. It would be just like in the futuristic science fiction movies.

Imagine how helpful and convenient it would be if a patient suffering from heart issues could get a brand new heart to replace the damaged one.

It would be no different from getting your entire car engine replaced, good as new.

---

That's the promise of bioprinting, a super cutting-edge field of science that blends biology with high-tech 3D printing techniques with the main aim of developing a fully functional and healthy organ that would replace a damaged one.

If someone is suffering from diabetes or faulty kidneys, they could have the entire kidney replaced.

This would mean no need to pray and hope for a donor. The recovery time for patients suffering from damaged or faulty vital organs will be higher than ever.

I'm just sitting on my chair imagining the world of possibilities with success and advancements in Bioprinting. 🤔

Let me take you through BioPrinting 101 guys, you will be amazed

Getting to Know the Essentials

Bioink

This is where the whole process begins. Bioink is a mixture of living cells extracted from the body of donors together with some special materials which are usually referred to as biomaterials, and growth factors.

It's like the main dough in a pizza-making process but for organs.

Bioprinter

Now the Bioprinters are the techs that are used in performing the whole Bioprinting procedure. They are like really advanced 3D printers but instead of printing 3D toys, it brings out the Bioink.

It's designed with multiple nozzles to position the Bioink where it's needed to be in order to effectively and successfully print out the organ.

3D Scans

Of course just like regular 3D printing, you would need to properly scan the object you want to print before printing it. The scientists take 3D scans of the organ they want to print.

We know different people have varying sizes of organs so in order to create a perfect replacement, we need to properly scan the right organ.

It's almost like having a GPS map for the bioprinter so it doesn't get lost with creating the right shape or size

Now let's discuss precisely how everything works with Bioprinting shall we

---

Mixing the Bioink

The first thing is to get the cells of the organ ready. Obviously the best thing would be to extract it from the patient whose organ needs replacement.
Now these cells are chosen carefully, depending on the organ the scientists need to make.

Then, the very next step is to mix the cells with biomaterials and growth factors to create the bioink. It's almost like creating the recipe for your delicious meal but this time it's to create an organ.

Digital Blueprint

Now guys, remember the 3D scans I just talked about? They're more like our blueprint. They are responsible for instructing the bioprinter on where to put the bioink.

No different from the coloring book where we stay inside the lines so that the right drawing can be done.

This way we're going to get the right organ shape and size.

Bioprinting in Action

Now that we have our Bioink ready and thanks the 3D Scan, we know exactly what organs we're creating, the next phase is to begin Bioprinting the organs.

What happens is that the bioprinter starts by laying down the bioink layer by layer. This is kind of like building a LEGO castle, one Lego block on top of the other.

Now as the Bioprinter does the job of laying the Bioink, the cells in the bioink start communicating and connecting to each other and forming the tissue of the organ needed.

This is basically like playing with living building blocks. Instead of cement you have Bioink and instead of a building you get a real life organ

Growing Up Time

Now the freshly printed tissue or organ probably needs some time to grow up and become fully functional right.

Scientists keep the printed tissue or organ in something called a bioreactor.

It's a structure that mimics the body's environment to help the printed tissue grow and get stronger just like how a baby's organ grows bigger as they grow older.

The Potential Impact of Bioprinting

Alright guys let's also talk about why bioprinting is such a big deal in the medical field.

Well here's the issue, at the moment there's a serious shortage of organs for transplants and there are more medical cases where organ transplants are needed for the survival of the patient.

A lot of who people needed organ replacements often wait for years, hoping for a suitable donor. Some end up with no luck and that usually has a fatal consequence.

The good news is that with Bioprinting, they wouldn't need to wait no more for suitable donors. This would be a relief for both the patients and all donors.

Like the scenario I painted in my preceding paragraphs, imagine if you or a friend needed a new kidney, and instead of waiting for a suitable donor, you could have a personalized one printed, custom just for you.

One question you may ask is; will my body accept this new organ?

Well I already in a way answered this question because I said that the cell extraction for making the Bioink will be taken from your very own body. This means your entire body will eventually accept the new organ just like how it accepts your old organ.

What Else Besides Transplant.

Well the benefits of Bioprinting is not just about transplants.

Bioprinted tissues and organs can also be used to test new medicines. If doctors need to know whether a drug will work well in fixing a fault in a patient's organ, all they need to do is to Bioprint the organ and then test the effectiveness of the drug.

The Challenges We Need to Overcome

One of the biggest challenges of Bioprinting is making sure that the bioprinted organs stay healthy and functional in the long run of the patient's life.

Every organ in our bodies rely on blood vessels to bring in nutrients and remove waste. Manufacturing these structures and mechanisms is really no small task guys.

The scientists and doctors need more expertise, time, funds for experiments and research to pull this off and make it an accessible procedure worldwide.

---

I'm not even going to go into too much details with the cost of getting such procedures at the moment. All I'll say is that, getting to print a human heart may not be as cheap as buying groceries but as technology and the world progresses, hopefully this becomes accessible to all.

---

Now another serious hurdle is dealing with the body's immune system.

You see the thing with our bodies is that it is pretty picky about what it allows from the outside to enter inside. The moment the body thinks that a material is not safe or good, it goes into automatic defense mode. This is how we've been battling bacteria and viruses.

So getting to bypass the immune system checks is also another hurdle scientists need to overcome for successful procedures.

Well I'll draw the curtains on my blog post for today. I really hope you enjoyed this blog. I'll definitely be happy to respond to any question or feedback you may have regarding the blog topic.

Have a lovely day guys and catch you next time on STEMGeeks. Goodbye ❤️

You Can Follow Me @skyehi For More Like This And Others