Replies

Yes, I remember that too.

With the bio-inks priced between $9 and $299, and the company's printers between $10,000 and $39,000, most of Cellink's sales have so far been to academic institutions in the US, Asia and Europe, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and University College London.

But pharmaceutical firms are also increasingly using Cellink's technology to develop products, by conducting tests on bioprinted human tissues, potentially reducing the need for animal trials in the process.

The company puts its rapid global expansion down to a range of factors, including access to existing technologies already developed for standard 3D printers, a strong online presence through videos and social media, and plenty of traditional, face-to-face contact with clients.

"We go to the customer. We spend days there. We train them and ensure that they are up and running," says Erik. "It's the time that you spend with the customer where you truly learn what they need."****************************************************Meanwhile Cellink is planning ahead to reach its much longer-term goal - to help solve a global shortfall in organs available for transplants.

Many experts in the field predict that bioprinting could be used to create functioning organs for implantation within 10 to 20 years, a possibility that opens up a minefield of ethical concerns that are set to keep the company on its toes as it continues to grow.

"A lot of people could think that bioprinting is 'playing God'," admits Erik***************************The firm that can 3D print human body parts By Maddy Savage Business reporter, Gothenburg*http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41859942

Human bodies on display in downtown Omaha
By Blake Ursch / World-Herald staff writer May 3, 2018 Updated 1 hr ago

http://www.omaha.com/go/human-bodies-on-display-in-downtown-omaha/article_f510ff22-3d07-5e26-8394-40ce199b322b.html

Though the exhibit is designed for all ages, organizers know some parts of the exhibit might not be for everyone. At least one section features signage warning viewers about its contents: preserved fetuses showing the various stages of human development.

The bodies, along with more than 100 organs and other specimens, have been preserved through a process called plastination, which replaces water and fat in the soft tissues with plastic, Merila said.

The bodies are first embalmed, then placed in a bath of acetone, which seeps into the cells, replacing the water inside. Later, the body is dunked in a bath of liquid polymer and boiled in a vacuum. The acetone in the cells vaporizes, drawing in the surrounding liquid plastic.

The plastic can be hardened using heat or UV light. But initially, the tissues are pliable, allowing them to be set in any number of different poses.

They have already printed a bladder over ten years ago. The patent was issued in 2006. They took an old inkjet printer filled the ‘color’ in cartridge with bladder cells and the ‘black’ ink cartridge was filled with a growing media like bacto agar then they just stacked the layers till they had a bladder within a block of the media

https://youtu.be/4nqw1yjyKEs

So are you saying bio-printing is good or bad? Or not saying.

As far as I can see, it’s a good thing. If you need an organ transplant, wouldn’t you much prefer to have one that’s bio-printed than one that is “harvested” from a dead person? It also seems to me that with bio-printing, you could get a custom printed organ that more closely matches you (maybe EXACTLY) thus eliminating or reducing the need for anti-rejection drugs that compromise your immune system.