The Northwestern researchers successfully 3D printed a bioprosthetic mouse ovary that ovulated when implanted inside a live mouse. Mice with the bioprosthetic ovaries were able to give birth to live pups, and even produce milk for them thanks to hormones produced by the 3D printed ovaries.
“This research shows these bioprosthetic ovaries have long-term, durable function,” said Teresa K. Woodruff, a reproductive scientist and director of the Women’s Health Research Institute at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
“Using bioengineering, instead of transplanting from a cadaver, to create organ structures that function and restore the health of that tissue for that person, is the holy grail of bioengineering for regenerative medicine,” Woodruff said in a news release.
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