US projects to 3D bioprint livers, hearts and kidneys using immune-matched cells (Mrigakshi Dixit, Jan 13, 2026, Interesting Engineering)
The project targets patients suffering from acute liver failure. These are people caught in a race against the clock.In the human body, the liver is the only organ capable of complete regeneration, but it needs time to heal. Usually, the time runs out before the healing begins.
“The goal is to create a piece of liver tissue that you can use as an alternative to transplant,” explained Adam Feinberg, professor of biomedical engineering at CMU and the project’s principal investigator. “The liver we are creating would last for about two to four weeks.”
That month-long window will allow the patient’s own liver to reboot.
If successful, the patient keeps their original organ, and a precious donor liver — currently a rare and finite resource — becomes available for someone else.