Uncharted Frontiers: A Policy Analysis of 3D Bioprinting in Microgravity on Human Organ Transplantation

Abstract

Every 8 minutes, someone is added to the national organ transplant waiting list in the United States. With over 103,000 people currently on the waiting list, the issue of scarcity for organ transplants remains one of the most critical barriers to care. In order to address this issue, scientists have turned to 3D bioprinting as a means of creating viable human organs for transplantation. Researchers have discovered that, when attempting bioprinting, it is most successful in microgravity. Following recent grant awards, universities and labs across the United States have begun experimenting with the success of 3D bioprinting in microgravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Ahead of the ISS’s expected decommissioning before 2030, this study asserts that the best way to improve microgravity research is a public-private partnership between NASA and the commercial sector to launch a commercial space station. This proposed replacement would ease strains on NASA’s budget, while also keeping costs significantly lower than those needed to maintain the ISS. This PPP would allow for further innovation in microgravity research, while overcoming many policy hurdles the ISS currently faces. This project is a policy analysis of bioprinting in microgravity on the ISS or its potential replacement and its implications for the future of organ transplantation. Combining an analysis of both organ donor and space policy, this study seeks to understand the implications of successful 3D bioprinting in the future and its impacts on organ transplantation.