Israeli researchers have managed to 3D print a prototype heart with cells and blood vessels from human tissue.
This is a world first: researchers based in Tel-Aviv (Israel) have just presented a prototype of a human heart 3D printed from human tissue. “This is the first time that we have printed a heart in our entirety, with its cells and blood vessels, explains to AFP Tel Devir, Professor at the University of Tel-Aviv. Another major breakthrough is that we were able to print it with material from the patient himself”.
The next step in this already spectacular breakthrough is to mature the heart in the laboratory for at least a month so that the cells learn to interact with each other, and can produce “electrical signals and synchronized contractions or the pumping capacity of the heart”. The researchers hope to be able to transplant these hearts within one or two years “into small guinea pigs like rats or rabbits”. And Professor Tel Devir sees far: “I think that in 10 years there will be printers in all hospitals which will be able to print tissues and organs, which will be transplanted into patients”.
This “major” advance could make it possible to better treat the cardiovascular diseases that are the first cause of death in the world, the second in France (first for women) just after cancer. According to government“cardio-neurovascular diseases remain the cause of approximately 140,000 deaths per year; they are also one of the main causes of morbidity with 3.5 million people (insured persons under the general scheme) treated in 2012, and more 11 million for vascular risk or diabetes”.
Yet in 2015, only 8% of heart transplants were performed, mainly because the heart is a fragile organ and the number of grafts in good condition is much lower than needed. This shortage dooms hundreds of patients every year.
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