EXCERPT

Approximately 18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. But that may change someday sooner than you think – thanks to 3D printing.

Advances in the 3D printing of human tissue have moved fast enough that San Diego-based bio-printing company Organovo now expects to unveil the world's first printed organ – a human liver – next year.

Like other forms of 3D printing, bio-printing lays down layer after layer of material – in this case, live cells – to form a solid physical entity – in this case, human tissue. The major stumbling block in creating tissue continues to be manufacturing the vascular system needed to provide it with life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients.

SOURCE

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244884/The_first_3D_printed_organ_a_liver_is_expected_in_2014