Developing sustainable printing inks for functional organs

AI Summary

Researchers are developing sustainable printing inks for functional 3D-bioprinted organs and tissue models. The technology could help address donor-organ shortages and support disease research and drug testing; the article notes that around 8,000 people in Germany join the transplant waiting list annually, and roughly one in ten do not receive an organ.

The organ transplant waiting list numbers 8,000 people each year in Germany alone, and about 10% of them never receive an organ. 3D bioprinting could help address the global shortage of donor organs by making it possible to automatically produce implantable organs or organ components tailored to individual patients "at the touch of a button." This technology could also be used to print pathological tissue models that replicate diseased tissue, supporting disease research and drug development and testing.