Transplantation’s Future: 3D Bioprinting Might Save Millions

In the context of organ transplantation, one of the primary issues that must be addressed is the extreme disparity between the number of donors and recipients on the waiting list, which has resulted in the emergence of lucrative black markets, government incentives, and auto-enrollment programs that force the public to choose not to donate their organs.

As you begin the process of waiting for an organ, the length of time that you will have to do so might range anywhere from a few months to several years; sadly, because of the severity of the organ shortage, the wait period is often in the latter category.

Transplantation’s Future

In light of this, Distrelec has looked at the data to paint a picture of how organ transplantation is going in the major European countries right now. The truth is that there is a scarcity of organs, which may be alleviated by technological developments in additive manufacturing, including bioprinting. But this is just a possibility.

There have already been cases in prosthetics where this technology has revolutionized treatments. For example, a 47-year-old man in the UK who got the first 3D-printed eye and who had been self-conscious about his lack of prosthesis since the age of 20

The field of medicine has a wide variety of potential uses for additive manufacturing, which is contributing to the sector’s fast expansion. This includes dental applications, personalized anatomical models, tools that are made to fit the individual’s anatomy, prostheses, and printed microdevices for health monitoring.

To find out which countries are working to improve this technology, we carefully looked at European companies that now specialize in bioprinting and have gotten money to do so. These firms have received funding.

With additive manufacturing, there will no longer be a need to use an organ from another person. This will cut the time spent on the waiting list and the chance of rejection after surgery by a large amount.

A quick look all throughout Europe

When we look at regions like Eastern Europe, we see glaring inequalities, with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Slovakia comprising the top 5 when it comes to the average percentage of people who are unable to receive an organ transplant. Given that organ donation saves lives, this is a serious issue.

Since Hungary joined the Eurotransplant organization in 2018, there has been a 40% increase in the number of organ transplants performed there. This rise is likely caused by a big rise in the number of kidney transplants done with organs from brain-dead donors as well as organs from living donors.

In the meantime, Bulgaria has been having trouble because of the laws that limit the donation of live organs. This has caused some patients to have to go to other countries to get treatment. According to the results of our investigation, a bioprinting company in Bulgaria was able to get an investment of 500,000 euros to study the use of additive manufacturing in the medical field and how it could be used to bioprint organs.

In the meantime, Ireland also ranks among the top 10 nations in terms of risk. The country has an average of 10.5% of patients who are unable to get an organ donor in time, with the largest percentage being ascribed to those who are waiting for a lung transplant.

A policy in which a deceased person’s next of kin would make decisions about a relative’s wishes regarding post-mortem donation is being replaced with a system that allows for a “lightweight opt-out.” The goal of this newly proposed national legislation is to speed up the organ donation and transplantation processes.

In addition, there is at least one firm in the nation whose primary emphasis is bioprinting, and this company has been granted an unknown amount of funds to assist in the further development of its technical capabilities.

Although the situation is dire and continues to have a negative impact on the lives of a great number of patients, it is essential to highlight the nations and businesses that are trying to advance technical innovation in order to make bioprinting a reality within the next decade. For example, there are already two companies in the UK that focus on the topic and have investments totaling more than £200 million. While France is home to a total of three specialized enterprises, the country only has access to 15 million euros in investment.

When it comes to waiting lists, the data that we have collected from averages across European countries show that the percentage of people who do not receive a lung transplant in a timely manner is highest, whereas the percentage of people who do not receive a kidney transplant in a timely manner is lowest. The WHO estimates that 10,000 kidneys are exchanged on the black market annually, which equates to more than one kidney being transferred every hour. This is surprising because the kidney is the body part that is most often sold illegally on the black market.

How would bioprinting help minimize mortality caused by waiting lists?

Scan images of the patient’s injured organ will be taken by medical professionals and scientists before the bioprinting procedure begins. These scans will be utilized to build a blueprint for the new organ. This is a slice-by-slice model that is rebuilt using bio-ink, which is a mix of living cells and biopolymer gels.

This model is built up layer by layer. Since the tissue can be made from the recipient’s own cells, the waiting periods for organs that are created in this manner will be greatly reduced, which means that people won’t have to depend on the donation of another person’s organs.

There have been some successful efforts to use this technology, such as Harvard’s production of a 3D model of a kidney. With more study and funding from specialized firms, this breakthrough has the potential to save millions of people’s lives.

Although there are businesses that are already capable of printing bone, cartilage, skin, and liver tissue, these businesses are still a long way from being able to provide bioprinted organs as a mass-market health solution. Some sources say that the bioprinting process itself could take anywhere from four to six weeks, while the wait time for a regular transplant could be anywhere from a few months to a few years. Since the embryo would be made up of the recipient’s cells, there would be less of a possibility that the body would reject the embryo after it was implanted. This would significantly cut down on the length of the waiting list.

The life of a patient who is on the waiting list for an organ transplant is often difficult. Most people waiting for lungs have moderate to severe shortness of breath and feel tired, while many people waiting for kidney transplants need dialysis. When a donor and recipient are matched, the process may be completed very quickly. For instance, a heart has a shelf life of about five to six hours after it is removed from the body before it begins to deteriorate.

Because of this, patients are often required to play a game of waiting, after which they must hurry about once an organ has been obtained. After that, the main things to focus on are the medicine to stop the body from rejecting the new organ and getting the body to accept the new organ. Both of these things can be hard for the patient to deal with.

The unique risks that come with waiting for each of these organs are radically different based on the organ itself as well as the nation in which you are listed as waiting for an organ transplant. The illustration that can be seen below provides a visual representation that is segmented according to the organ that is currently awaiting a transplant and the country, as well as the average proportion of people who pass away while waiting for an organ in each country.

The goal of this study is to show how human needs drive progress, as well as the research and investments that companies in Europe are making. With this new technology, additive manufacturing in healthcare gives us a glimpse of what the future may hold. While we are still quite a way off, this study aims to show the human need that is driving advancement.

The development of this technology is proceeding at a rapid pace; nevertheless, it is essential to keep in mind that the practice of bioprinting organs is not yet common in the medical industry.

The earliest that this may happen, according to the opinions of several experts, is some time within the next decade. It is possible that this will first be a service that is made accessible to the general public until it can be created in a manner that is economical.