The first transplant of a 3D-printed liver will occur by 2024.
3D printers are already increasingly used in the healthcare industry to create human parts, like bone replacements and organ implants. Doctors have already used 3D printing to create part of a patient's rib cage and other bone implants.
But bioprinting, which combines bioengineering with 3D printing, will also enable researchers and others in the healthcare industry to grow usable artificial organs.