Audience: Middle and High School Students
Currently, across the nation there are over 103,223 men, women, and children who are waiting for an organ transplant. 17 of those people die each day while on the waitlist. Unfortunately, in spite of the medical field's outstanding advancements in organ transplantation, there is one problem they cannot solve: the shortage of organ donors. Not to mention all the other challenges that come along with finding a viable organ for transplantation, making this a difficult process. This includes the strict compatibility requirements that must be met between a donor and recipient, along with the degeneration of an organ that occurs during its transportation. Despite the amazing advancements that have been made to the organ transplantation process, it is evident that many shortcomings still remain. An example of this is the lack of organ donors, which seems impossible to be resolve, but that all is destined to change. Tissue engineering is creating new artificial organs that will help make up for the lack of organs available at the moment.
Tissue engineering is a branch of biomedical engineering which allows for a world where damaged organs can be repaired or replaced without the need to take organs from a human donor. This groundbreaking technology has the opportunity to grant millions of people a new lease on life, many of whom are facing organ failure or other issues. Although the field is relatively new, it has shown considerable promise in lowering fatalities caused by organ failure. Yet, tissue engineering does not merely pertain to the creation of artificial organs. Instead, many types of tissue, such as artificial skin grafts, have been created to help improve patients' appearances after suffering an injury or accident. Tissue engineering is undoubtedly a revolutionary field, and it requires a great deal of research and hard work to make it possible.
To create artificial organs and tissue scientists rely on 3D bioprinting, a process which uses both natural and artificial materials. Scientists use these materials to develop artificial tissue and organs that retain identical structures, as well as functions, to biological ones. These bioprinted structures aim to promote cell growth and tissue regeneration within the body by utilizing biological materials. One main material scientists use when producing these artificial structures are scaffolds. Scaffolds are porous three-dimensional structures built from biological substances. They are composed of a network of intertwined fibers designed to generate the ideal conditions for cell adhesion and growth. Scaffolds are particularly effective in growing tissue because they can imitate the biological processes of cells that occur within the body, outside of it. Additionally, they often use stem cells and biologically active molecules to aid in building functional tissue. Stem cells are an essential component in tissue engineering because of their unique ability to develop into various kinds of cells, as if they are universal cells. They serve as building blocks for new tissue to form in the scaffolds. Furthermore, the use of biologically active molecules help guide and promote stem cells to differentiate into the desired cell type. In order for scientists to figure out the process for tissue engineering mentioned above they had to conduct years and years worth of research. Yet, that research does not end now because there is still lots of room for improvement and advancement in the field.
So far, tissue engineering has enabled scientists to create skin, cartilage, and even heart tissue in the laboratory. These advancements are intended to foster healing and lessen the need for organ transplants. However, engineered tissue has not been widely used in humans yet due to its methods still being experimental and expensive. Hence, there is a need for more testing in humans and further overall research. This being said, some artificial tissue that has been implanted in humans include tiny arteries, skin grafts, cartilage, and additional bladders. Most notably, there is a procedure that has been developed, allowing for the implantation of an entire trachea in patients. To date, this is one of the most significant surgeries completed with the help of engineering tissue.
Indisputably, tissue engineering is an extremely promising and transformative field that has introduced a revolutionary method to repairing and replacing damaged organs and tissue. This method is extremely impactful because it allows people to produce functional organs and tissue without the need of a donor, instead through the reliance on 3D bioprinting. It allows for the creation of patient-specific tissue, which significantly reduces the risk of rejection and solves the global shortage of donor organs. This is critical since, according to the Health Resources & Services Administration, at the moment a person gets added to the transplant waiting list every 8 minutes. This remains a fact, regardless of the reality that there aren't nearly enough donors to meet the demand. As of now, tissue engineering is still in a relatively early stage of development, and there are many technical and regulatory challenges ahead. However, huge efforts are being put into moving the field forward through laboratory research and clinical trials. In the future, tissue engineering is expected to play a vital role in improving people's quality of life and changing the face of regenerative medicine.
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