Organ Donor

Words: 477
Pages: 2

“One [organ] donor can save eight lives.” The same slogan for becoming an organ donor is used nearly everywhere. It is posted on the side of the highway, in the doctor’s office, the DMV, and in health applications on phones. It is posted in every little corner and nook it can be placed and all for a good cause, but who said that an organ, even a vital organ, has to come from another body? Why do the vital organs of the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines have to come from another human being? People do not think this way when it comes to the organ of bones. The hip replacement my neighbor just got is most definitely not from another person. This is the same with a prosthetic. Both of which are mainly composed of metal, …show more content…
Yes, getting more people to become organ donors would help, but it would not be enough to solve this organ shortage. More than 115,000 Americans need an organ transplant, and there are less than 16,500 organ donors in the country. It is time to look for a new solution to this growing problem. Enter 3D printing. Recently, the medical world has accepted the products of 3D printing with open arms and minds. Medical equipment, prosthetic parts, and medical models have seen practical use first, but the future of 3D printing and what it can do for the world has endless possibilities. Bioprinting is the way of means for tissue engineering. Blood vessels, heart valves, bones, skin, and other organs could all be synthetically made using this technology. Bioprinting with real, living cells would also decrease complications in organ transplant since the replacement organ can be printed with the recipient’s own cells. Thus, the risk of rejection will be reduced. Bioprinting could be the answer to the organ shortage. It will provide organs in greater quality and quantity. And just maybe those 20 people that die daily waiting for an organ transplant will be able to live another day and breathe another breath with the organs provided to them through a