{"id":1761,"date":"2023-06-09T09:31:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T08:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/mioir\/?p=1761"},"modified":"2023-06-09T09:36:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T08:36:04","slug":"can-3d-bioprinting-cure-organ-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/mioir\/2023\/06\/09\/can-3d-bioprinting-cure-organ-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"Can 3D Bioprinting \u201ccure\u201d organ trafficking?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The organ shortage leads to organ trafficking.<\/h3>\n

The global shortage of organs is alarming, leaving thousands of patients in desperate need of organs for severe injuries or illnesses. Globally, more than half a million people are on the transplant waiting list<\/a>, and many have not lived long enough to receive the life-saving operation. After more than six decades since the first successful transplant<\/a>, matching organ donors and recipients is the only legal and ethical way to transplant organs.<\/p>\n

The dearth of organs for transplant has produced gruesome makeshift solutions. To accommodate this lingering \u201cdeadly\u201d demand, there is a whole \u201clively\u201d black market trading organs, with an estimated value of 1 billion USD<\/a>, \u201cpreyed\u201d on the underprivileged. An exemplified means is that migrants and refugees are coerced into selling their organs to pay for their passage to Europe. In the interview with a Lebanese human smuggler<\/a>, Syrian refugees were helpless but had to sell parts of their bodies as a last resort for survival; some sold kidneys, while others sold eyes. The United Nations (UN)<\/a> has placed a primary focus on combating the trafficking of persons for the purpose of organ removal.<\/p>\n

3D bioprinting and potential to deliver UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).<\/h3>\n

There is a rising hope that 3D bioprinting can remedy the shortage of organs. This, in turn, could discourage people from purchasing illegal organs and help to put an end to this inhumane activity.<\/p>\n

3D bioprinting has emerged as the most promising technology in biotechnology<\/a> and is expected to have a significant impact on global society in the near future. At its simplest, 3D bioprinting<\/a> is the same as 3D printing, constructing a 3D object from a digital file, but the material now is from patients\u2019 cells. There have been certain milestones in the application. For instance, Renishaw recreated a cheekbone and eye socket for a road traffic accident victim<\/a>, enabling reconstructive surgery that would not have been possible otherwise.<\/p>\n

More complex structure body parts, such as internal organs (e.g., kidneys, livers, hearts), are under active development. So, it means patients will not have to wait for matching organ donation, with a latent potential of transplant rejection.<\/p>\n

Imagine, one day, your kidneys fail and need replacement. Instead of panicking and hopelessly waiting for years for matching organ donation (or illicitly purchasing organs), you only need to wait for acceptable hours to receive new ones just as identical and well-functioned as your \u201coriginal\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Advancing SDG 3 and SDG 16 by 3D bioprinting<\/p><\/div>\n

This technology aligns with SDG 3 \u2013 Good Health and Wellbeing<\/a> by producing body parts that are entirely dependent on donors. if bioprinting can help meet the huge demand for human organs, organs may become more available, and there would be no need to resort to criminal organ purchases. It will eradicate organ trade from the black market \u2013 one of the most atrocious transnational crimes<\/a>, eventually indirectly delivering SDG 16, target 16.2 \u2013 \u2018End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The dilemma.<\/h3>\n

But emerging technologies, which are still in the early stages of development, can paradoxically heighten our sense of uncertainty<\/a>. The solution to a problem can create many more problems since unforeseen impacts<\/a> are likely to occur. Although the prospect of this medical technology sounds attractive, it is just the beginning of a big \u201cwhat if\u201d, including realistic and dystopian risks:<\/p>\n

Technological risks<\/strong>:<\/p>\n