3D Bioprinting: Can India capitalise on a growing trend?

The shortage of organ donors and the resulting loss of lives due to tissue damage or organ failure is a global crisis. In India, approximately 500,000 people die annually due to the lack of an organ donor.

In the US, over 104,000 people were on the national transplant waiting list as of June 2023. Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering is a promising breakthrough with the potential to save lives, and perhaps revolutionise the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.

3D bioprinting: A new frontier

‘3D bioprinting’, aka bioprinting, is a form of additive manufacturing (AM) that can combine biology and synthetic biology to generate biological materials. It uses cells and other biocompatible materials as ‘bio-inks’ to print living structures layer-by-layer which mimic natural living systems.

This technology has already achieved significant milestones. Breakthroughs such as bio-print liver tissue patches, fully-vascularized bio-printed mini-human heart and  the  3D-printed cornea appear promising enough for the development of transplantable tissues and organs. Bioprinting can also address the increasing reluctance to test cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical products on animals, and is also a cost-effective alternative.

For example, Organovo, a global 3D bioprinting leader, bio-printed living human skin cells to test L’Oréal's skin-care products without animal tests.

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