Scientists from Tel Aviv University (TAU), Israel have created the world’s first 3D vascularized, engineered heart with real human tissue and blood vessels. “This is the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers,” said professor and the study’s lead researcher Tal Dvir of TAU’s School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology. Read more for a video and additional information.
“The process of creating the heart started with a biopsy of fatty tissue taken from patients. The cellular material from the tissues was used as the ‘ink’ for the print job. That allowed researchers to create complex tissue models including cardiac patches and eventually an entire heart. It should be noted that the heart isn’t very big — it’s only about the size of a rabbit’s heart. But the technology that made it possible could eventually lead to the production of a human-sized organ,” reports Engadget.