Bioprinting Blog

Organ shortage remains as a global crisis with no sight of a decrease in demand. In the US alone, the current number of people on a waitlist for organ transplantation stands at over 120,000 and >83% are awaiting for kidney transplants [1] . Of those requiring transplants, only ~17% receive a kidney transplant, ~5% will die and the remaining 78% are still on the waitlist. Kidney transplants is not the end-all be-all Even if you were the lucky 13%, having a new transplant means you have to be on immunosuppresive drugs for the rest of their lives to minimize organ rejection and continue to be vigilant with their health. The other option For those who are less fortunate, which is the majority, they have to be on dialysis. This means you will have to go to a treatment center for hemodialysis every 2-3 days to get your blood filtered. For those who choose home-based treatment, either hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, this will have to be done everyday. Dialysis treatment affects

Bioprinting Tissue Models The advent of bioprinted three-dimensional (3D) tissue models for drug discovery and development has been propelled by the lack of predictive in vitro systems and animal models for testing efficacy and safety of new drugs. Fortunately, as bioprinting tools have become more advanced and our knowledge-base continues to increase, the level of sophistication, precision and complexity of today's bioprinted tissue models are moving closer toward a reality - an in vivo like system that is representative of the human body ex vivo . Tissue models: Cancer progression on the skin Given how everything has been evolving and revolving around COVID-19, let's take a moment to highlight recent developments specific to bioprinting including ones that are targeted toward finding a solution for COVID-19. Tissue Models for COVID-19 Lung Tissue Model Last week, Viscient Biosciences announced that the company is leveraging their unique approach to bioprint