-This is the first time
that a whole cellular heart
with blood vessels
is printed.
It is based on a small biopsy
that is taken from a patient.
The cells and the biomaterial
from these tissues
are separated.
The cells are reprogrammed
to become stem cells
and then differentiated
to become cardiac cells
and cells
that form blood vessels.
And the biomaterial,
the collagen and
the other sugars in the tissue,
is processed
to become a bio-ink.
And together, when mixed,
we have bio-inks
for the heart and bio-inks
for the blood vessels,
and then we use a 3-D printer
to print whole hearts
with the major blood vessels.
-I'm not sure it's gonna serve
ourself in the next few years,
but for our children
I think it's gonna be
maybe an amazing opportunity.
-The whole process may take
months or two from the minute
that we take the biopsy
from the patient
till we create the cells
and print them,
and the next stage is to mature
these hearts in the lab
for at least a month
to help the cells
or teach them how to interact
with each other
and how to provide
electrical signals
and to have
synchronous contraction
or pumping ability of the heart.
And in a year or two,
we hope to take these hearts
and transplant them
in small animal models --
in rats or rabbits.
-It will take some time to go
from a small-sized heart
into entire big heart.
We still have a long way to go,
but we are very optimistic.
