Artificial Organs: Limitations and Possibilities

Lisette Peres for the Health Empowerment Coalition

On average, one person dies of organ failure each hour in the United States due to the inaccessibility of organ transplants, equating to about 8,000 people who die each year.¹ Currently, there are 106,605 people on the organ transplant waiting list.² The average time for receiving an organ transplant varies widely based on the organ; a lung can be as soon as 4 months, while a kidney can take as long as 5 years. Even when patients do receive an organ transplant, around 10-20% of them will suffer from organ rejection.³ For decades, scientists have been working on ways to create artificial organs to give patients the best chance of success after transplant surgery. Recent developments in technology have allowed us to get one step closer to the development of artificial organs, which may completely replace the need for organ donors.

Dutch scientist, Willem J. Kolff, is credited with developing the first artificial heart and dialysis machine, thus establishing the field of artificial organs.⁴ He developed the first artificial heart that was successfully transplanted into a human in 1981– the Jarvik-7 heart.⁵ Jarvik-7 was made out of aluminium and plastic and was controlled by an exterior pump in order to keep the heart beating. While the patient only lived for 112 days post-surgery, it signified a huge success in this new field of research. However, the difficulty of maintaining such a large device and its short-term success in patients ultimately led doctors to stop using it just a couple of years after first being implanted.⁶

Since the development of Jarvik-7, the growth of 3D printing has created the potential for the field of artificial organ development. One of the limitations of 3D-printed organs is figuring out a way to create a functional, tissue-based organ that would mimic natural, human organs in physical and physiological functions, like the secretion of hormones. Stephen Badylak, a professor at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, has been working on developing a functional liver that may be able to address these limitations and possibly be transplanted. Badylak’s work involves harvesting a patient’s stem cells and culturing them in specially designed 3D scaffolds. The goal is that when given the necessary growth nutrients, the cells will develop into a fully functional organ that contains the patient's cells, diminishing the risk of organ rejection and poor immune response.⁵

While Badylak’s artificial liver is still in the research and not yet ready for transplantation in humans, 3D printed artificial organs have other uses within medical research. Pharmaceutical companies have begun using artificial organs to test their drugs. Another notable use for artificial organs is to replace animal testing; L’oreal, one of the largest cosmetic companies, has begun using 3D printed skin to test their cosmetics, thus eliminating highly controversial animal testing.

The field of artificial organs has grown significantly since its dawn in the mid 20th century, and great strides have been made in allowing those who are dealing with organ failure to have a second chance at life. However, there is still some time before we can see 3D-printed organs replacing the need for organ donors. Could they replace the need for organ transplants in the near future?

References:

1. Donate Life America Quarterly Registry Overview Report and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). (2019, January 16). 2019 NDLM donation and transplantation statistics final ... Retrieved from https://www.donatelife.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2019-NDLM-Donation-and-Transplantation-Statistics-FINAL-Jan2019.pdf

2. Health Resources & Services Administration. (2021, October). Organ donation statistics. organdonor.gov. Retrieved from https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/organ-donation-statistics

3. Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program. (n.d.). Organ rejection after renal transplant. Organ Rejection after Renal Transplant | Columbia Surgery. Retrieved from https://columbiasurgery.org/kidney-transplant/organ-rejection-after-renal-transplant

4. Moore, Carrie A. (2009, February 11) Kolff, 'father of artificial organs,' dies at 97, Deseret News.

5. Frost, & Sullivan. (2017). Innovations in artificial organs. The Alliance of Advanced BioMedical Engineering. Retrieved from https://aabme.asme.org/posts/innovations-in-artificial-organs

6. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Artificial heart. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/artificial-heart#ref919521

Author: Lisette Peres

Edited by: Maggie Sell, Mateya Rettig, and Michelle Pan

The Health Empowerment Coalition is a student-led organization that aims to empower individuals across the United States to improve their health literacy and take charge of their health. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not reflect the official opinions of the institutions at which they work and study. Additionally, the content in this article is not intended to provide medical advice.