3D Bioprinting Pushes Boundaries in Quest for Custom Livers

Chronic liver failure and donor organ scarcity leave thousands of patients at risk of death while awaiting transplantation. To help address this challenge, a multidisciplinary team at the University of California San Diego is developing patient-specific livers produced by three-dimensional bioprinting. The effort is supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and aims to create a scalable alternative to donor organs.

Led by 3D bioprinting expert Shaochen Chen, a professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, the project brings together a multidisciplinary team spanning engineering, liver biology, imaging, surgery, and artificial intelligence. The goal is to create “made-to-order” livers grown from a patient’s own cells. This approach could provide a safe, scalable alternative to transplantation, eliminating the need for donor organs and lifelong immunosuppressant drugs.

The bioprinting platform uses digitally controlled light patterns to solidify cell-laden bioinks layer by layer. This approach recreates fine tissue microarchitecture, including intricate vascular networks. Recently integrated artificial intelligence assists in designing and manufacturing these networks, which are essential for scaling from small tissue constructs to full organs. The tissues originate from human induced pluripotent stem cells, enabling patient-specific manufacture.

The initiative builds on more than two decades of development. In 2016, the team demonstrated lifelike human liver tissue models only a few millimeters in size that recapitulated key hepatic structures and functions. Subsequent commercialization through Allegro 3D (now Cellink) advanced the system from laboratory prototype to an industrial-scale printer suited for larger, more complex constructs.

The initiative aims to bioprint a life-sized, transplantable human liver, potentially providing an on-demand source of functional tissue for more than 12,000 patients on the U.S. transplant waiting list each year. The approach could reduce healthcare costs and improve long-term outcomes for patients with chronic liver disease. The researchers are collaborating with industry-partner Allele Biotechnology, which specializes in personalized stem cell generation and operates facilities that meet regulatory standards. The partnership seeks to advance the process from laboratory-grade to clinical-grade production. 

“When people think about 3D printing, they often imagine making gadgets like cellphone holders or toys, not human organs,” said Chen. “But the need for organ transplants is enormous, and 3D bioprinting is uniquely suited to address that challenge, as it allows us to personalize each organ to the patient. Our ultimate goal — the holy grail — is to help solve the organ shortage by printing real, living human organs that can restore health and quality of life.”

“For decades, the transplant community has dreamed of a future where the fate of thousands of patients each year is no longer determined by the scarcity of donor organs,” said Gabriel Schnickel, professor of surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine, chief of the Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery at UC San Diego Health, and co-investigator on the project. “This work has the potential to fundamentally change countless lives by moving that vision from aspiration to reality. 

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