New method for 3D printing human tissue developed

UK researchers have developed a method of creating 3D printed tissue made from human cells, opening up new potential for medical applications.

Plastic surgeons from the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery in Morriston Hospital have succeeded in bioprinting small pellets of living tissue, as well as a jelly-like support structure that is compatible with the human cells.

It can be used as the ink for printing the intricate shape of an ear or nose, making it possible to replace body parts lost through trauma or cancer using new tissue grown from their own cells.

The next stage will be to blend the jelly and cartilage cells together and 3D print them into bespoke tissue for reconstructive surgery. The resulting product will need to be strong enough to withstand the surgical procedure and then survive indefinitely as healthy tissue afterwards.

Professor Iain Whitaker, consultant plastic surgeon and chair in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Swansea University Medical School, said: "In two to three years we should be in a position to trial with animals, and within a year after that – pending ethical approval – we should be in a position to trial this in humans."