Personalized Organs? China Creates First 3D Blood Vessel “Bio-Printer”

Chinese news outlet Xinhua is reporting that a biotech firm announced over the weekend that it has successfully created the world’s first stem cell-based, 3D blood vessel bio-printer, a step towards the creation of “personalized, functional” human organs:

Sichuan Revotek Co., Ltd. based in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, said the significant breakthrough has been achieved through its self-developed stem cell bio-ink technology, 3D bio-printer and cloud computing platform…

Kang’s team has created a novel type of bio-ink – “Biosynsphere”, whose primary goal is the personalized stem cell bio-printing to pave the way for organ regeneration.

“We have successfully realized the blood vessel regeneration by relying on the 3D bio-printer, the biosynsphere technology and the data model based on cloud computing,” he said.

America developed the bio-printer in 2011, and so far it has been used to create skin, cartilage, and vertebral discs. In 2012, an 83-year-old woman received a 3D printed jaw transplant.

Earlier this year, Chinese scientists announced they were the first to genetically modify a human embryo.