The heart, together with the brain, is considered one of the main organs of the human body. But it is not for less, he is responsible for ensuring that our blood is sent to all parts of the body.
However, in cases where the patient suffers from serious heart disease, such as coronary artery disease, severe heart failure or arrhythmias, this main function of pumping blood can be compromised.
As a result, malfunctioning of the heart ends up putting the patient’s life at risk and transplantation may be necessary in some cases.
But because it is a very sensitive organ, the transplant depends on the donor’s health and the family’s own initiative to donate the organs.
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And it is necessary that, after accepting these conditions, the whole procedure takes place in just 4 hours.
According to the Brazilian Association of Organ Transplants, in 2018 alone, about 232 people waited on the waiting list to be able to receive another heart.
3D Heart
But despite all the difficulty, good news was published in the scientific journal Advanced Science .
Israeli researchers at the University of Tel Aviv presented a living 3D heart, made from human tissues, from the patient himself, which supposedly would eliminate the risks of a rejection of the organism.
For this, the researchers had to perform a small biopsy of the patients’ adipose tissue, so that cells were collected, which were reprogrammed to be stem cells.
Then there was a differentiation to divide them into heart cells and blood vessels.
Then, all biological material was converted to bio-ink (used to print living tissue).
As a result, a 3cm heart was presented, that is, the same size as a rabbit’s organ (the same measurement as a cherry).
Despite being able to contract, the printed organ is not yet able to pump blood completely.
But, according to the researchers, the important thing is that it was whole, complete and mostly alive, with all the cells, blood vessels, chambers and ventricles.
Next challenge
The next stage of the study will now be divided into two parts: first, testing the organ (heart) in small animals, such as rabbits and rats, so that its efficiency can be tested.
And then, try to reproduce a bigger heart, with more cells capable of communicating between them efficiently, so that it is possible to test in humans.
It is possible to see advances in the field of medicine with the potential to change the lives of people who need a heart transplant.
