Invetech, an Australian engineering firm, has teamed up with Organovo, a medical company, to produce a 3-D bio-printer that can fabricate organs to order. The device builds up organs a layer of cells at a time and uses the different cells based on the recipients own body. This significantly lowers the chances of organ rejection. For the more complex organs, the printer lays the cells over a pre-made scaffold. The printer is still in its early testing phase but the companies believe that within five years, they will be able to print out veins and arteries for bypass surgery and within 10 years for complex organs like the liver and heart.
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