Researchers at MIT have been looking into building human livers using 3D printing. The research team led by Sangeeta Bhatia has moved a step closer to the creation of synthetic liver. These tiny human livers contain approximately one million cells and resemble contact lenses in appearance. Real human livers contain about a hundred billion liver cells, so they would have to be a thousand times bigger than the contact lens livers.

The aim of the research team is to scale up the size of the micro-liver such that one day it can be used as an alternative to human-to-human liver transplants. The team has been experimenting on building layers using light-sensitive materials. The light shines a pattern into each layer to produce a 3D part. The specific technique is dependent on the tissue, and liver is very special due to its ability to regenerate without the need for stem cells.

The biggest challenge going forward will be to scale up and 3D print a liver that contains a billion or even ten billion liver cells. This 3D printed tiny human liver can presently be implanted in mice. The research team hopes that the technology can someday be taken to humans.

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Bill Besim