Lab‑grown organs and tissue engineering
Lab‑grown organs are tissues made in a lab.
Scientists use stem cells and scaffolds to build them.
The goal is to replace donor organs and reduce transplant waiting lists.
Early successes
A lab‑grown bladder was transplanted in 1999.
A windpipe was grafted in 2008.
Engineered skin and bone marrow have also been used in patients.
Organ‑on‑a‑chip
Microfluidic chips mimic tiny organs.
They allow perfusion and real‑time monitoring.
Vascularized skin equivalents have been built on chips.
3D bioprinting
Bioprinters layer cells and biomaterials with precision.
Researchers printed blood‑vessel networks in heart tissue.
The vessels beat in sync after a few days.
Bone marrow model
A human‑cell bone marrow niche was created from iPSCs.
It contains bone, vessels, nerves and immune cells.
It can produce blood cells for weeks.
Brain organoids
A porous scaffold called BIPORES supports neural stem cells.
The cells grow into functional neurons.
The model can be personalized from a patient’s own cells.
Challenges
Full‑size organs still need extensive vascular networks.
Scaling up remains difficult.
Immune rejection is still a concern.
Outlook
Lab‑grown tissues could ease the organ shortage.
Personalized grafts may lower rejection risk.
Continued advances in bioprinting and scaffolds are expected.
CMP Bio World 