Artificial Organs

By Juee Deshmukh, Edited by Harini Akurathi & Anvitha Mattapalli, Layout by Arushi Patil, Art by Sahithi Lingampalli, & Blogged by Kavya Gurunath

Organ failure is one of the leading causes of death. But can recent technology solve that, saving the lives of numerous patients?

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 well-functioning 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 3-D bioprinting of tissues. According to AABME, the company has successfully printed tissue for the liver, heart, lung and kidney for research use, toxicology studies and other preclinical drug testing (AABME). In medical research, artificial organs can accelerate the development of drugs and reduce animal testing for products.

There are artificial organs generated to replace bones and joints, skin and soft tissue, internal organs (e.g. kidney, liver) and sensory organs like eyes. They can be divided into three classes: mechanical, biomechanical and biological. Mechanical organs are made of different polymers. Biological organs are developed with living cells and biodegradable polymers, and biomechanical organs are made with partially living cells and inanimate polymers (NCBI).

One benefit of receiving an artificial organ is that one doesn’t have to wait for several months or years to receive a transplant. Transplant lists can be “significantly reduced or even disappear,” according to The Actuary. Patients waiting for a replacement are less likely to go through organ rejection, which is when transplanted organs are rejected by the recipient’s immune system, because artificial organs can possibly be mass produced. A patient can go back to living a normal life in a shorter time. However, it is risky. Artificial lungs raise the risk of blood clots and infection, and patients must take medicine and receive intensive therapy. The possible complications make artificial lungs a less favored option.

A patient needs to keep the risks that come with receiving an artificial organ in his or her mind. If produced well, they can replace transplants, saving many patients’ lives in a shorter span of time. In the years ahead, there will be obstacles such as device costs, ethical concerns and safety concerns. Nevertheless, artificial organs pave the way for further advancements in medical technology.

References

Wynn, H. 2017. What if artificial organs could replace the need for donors? The Actuary. Retrieved from: https://www.theactuary.com/features/2017/11/2017/11/07/what-if-artificial-organs-could-replace-need-donors

F & S2017. Innovations in Artificial Organs. Alliance of Advanced BioMedical Engineering. Retrieved from: https://aabme.asme.org/posts/innovations-in-artificial-organs

Gebelein, C. 1984. The Basics of Artificial Organs. ACS Publications. Retrieved from: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-1984-0256.ch001

Xiaohong, W. 2018. Bioartificial Organ Manufacturing Technologies. NCBI. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322143/

By Sahithi Lingampalli