Densely cellular tissue constructs are stained in green marking living cells and red marking dead. The image on the left is without embedded vascular channels and one on the right is with the channels.

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Wyss Institute at Harvard University Twenty people die every day waiting for an organ transplant in the U.S., and while more than 30,000 patients now receive transplants annually, another 113,000 are currently on organ waitlists.

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Many people see artificially grown human organs as the Holy Grail for resolving the organ shortage, and advances in 3D printing have led to a boom in using that technique to build living tissue constructs in the shape of human organs. However, all 3D-printed human tissues to date lack the cellular density and organ-level functions they need to be used in organ repair and replacement.

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Now, a new technique called SWIFT […]

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