Lab Grown Body Parts

Lab Grown Body Parts

Daniella Roehling

What are they?

Lab grown body parts are organs grown with the use of technology outside of a body. They can be made from human tissue, or synthetic materials.

Research in regards to them has been conducted for over 25 years, however, much more research is required. Complex organs such as the kidneys, heart, and liver, are not yet being granted to the public with a guarantee of a long-lasting lifespan.

These lab grown parts are utilized for patients awaiting important organ transplants, and can replace the esophagus, ear cartilage, and many other parts of the body. Lab grown body parts can also include In Vitro Meat; edible meat created in emulation of animal meat.

Bibliography - Lab Grown Body Parts

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“In VItro Meat”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2015. Wikimedia Foundation Inc. May 14, 2015.

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Prototype kidney, ears, and finger bone, produced with a 3D printer.

Fun Facts

- The need for transplant organs outnumbers the supply of available organs.

- Some believe that patients ought not to be permitted to make the conscious decision to receive/not receive a heart transplant as it is a matter of mortality.

- 3D printing is an important part of the creation of lab grown organs.

- 80% of people waiting for organ transplants are in need of kidneys, which are one of the toughest organs to manufacture due to complexity.

- Scientists are developing palm-sized mock human organs, designed to test drugs and help understand the basic function of healthy or diseased organs.

Pros and Cons

In Vitro Meat

Cons

- The patient is susceptible to infections and organ rejection.

- Possibility of the presence of disease in the base body tissue for the artificial organ.

- Cost of growing and transplanting an artificial organ is high.

- Chance of organ failure, or failure for the body to adapt to a foreign, new organ.

- Some people may abuse the existence of artificial organs; the rich getting them to improve their organs regardless of not being in mortal danger.

In vitro meat is effectively victimless meat. With the exception of the Fetal Calf Serum extracted from a slaughtered cow, this meat has never been a part of a living organism. This process involves taking muscle cells and applying a protein that promotes tissue growth, and requires a preservative, such as sodium benzoate, to protect the growing meat from yeast and fungus. The first in vitro beefburger, created by a Dutch team, was eaten at a demonstration for the press in London in August 2013, where it was fed to critics.

“There is really a bite to it, there is quite some flavour with the browning. I know there is no fat in it so I didn't really know how juicy it would be, but there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, it's not that juicy, but the consistency is perfect. This is meat to me... It's really something to bite on and I think the look is quite similar.” Hanni Reutzler.

In retail, it would be considered inexpensive in comparison to organic meat.

Pros

- In vitro meat creates meals without the need for animal death.

- More than 120,000 people are waiting for organ donations, and with lab grown parts, many of them could get new organs made from their own tissue, which would reduce the risk of the body rejecting a ‘foreign object’.

- Furthering scientific knowledge in regards to how to create new organs, how said organs function, and how to prevent affecting diseases.

- Time taken to create or grow an artificial organ is lesser than the waiting period for finding a suitable donor whose organ matches with the recipient's body perfectly.

How do they work?

One way to create blood vessels, for instance, is 3D printing using ‘disappearing’ ink. It’s a gelatin-based ink that makes up the basic structure of the vessels; interwoven and hollow, tube-like structures, paired with an ink laced with human or mouse skin cells.

Ultimately, stem cells, which are undifferentiated biological cells, are primarily used along with human tissue to create functional, non-robotic organs.

This means that they are not synthetic.

Every organ in the body has some special stem cells which are unique to that organ. These stem cells are isolated and kept under favorable conditions to grow in a lab. The cells are seeded with the mold which resembles the organ, and left to grow. Within a few weeks, the cells grow, and the mold gets disintegrated further, leaving just the organ.