Artificial
Written by Juee Deshmukh
Organ
For many years, humanity aimed to increase lifespan by restoring damaged organs. In 1982, Willem J Kolff invented what merges life, medicine and engineering- artificial organs. Artificial organs are engineered devices that are integrated into the body to replace or duplicate a natural organ. Different types of artificial organs have their own functions as well as their own pros and cons.
Artificial organs replace the functions of a deteriorated or missing organ. More than 120,000 Americans are on the waiting list for wellfunctioning organs. The average kidney recipient has to wait 3.6 years for a kidney replacement while more than 20 people die while waiting for an organ daily (Alliance of Advanced BioMedical Engineering). BiVACOR is a company in Houston, Texas that developed an artificial heart for patients who do not qualify for transplant. The device is called TAH, for total artificial heart. With technology like this, artificial organs can potentially solve transplant shortages and decrease the number of organ failure deaths all over the world. Artificial organs benefit medical research as well. For example, Organovo in San Diego is producing 3D bioprinting of tissues. According to AABME, the company has successfully printed tissue for the liver, heart, lung and kidney for research use,
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