Woman gets 3D-printed ear transplant made of her own cells

Doctors successfully transplanted a 3D-printed ear made of human cells to a woman born with a rare ear deformity - microtia, reported the regenerative medicine company 3DBio Therapeutics. The transplant was part of the first clinical trial of the technology, and its success marks a major step forward for tissue engineering.

Microtia is a fairly common condition in which one or both ears are underdeveloped or completely absent. 3DBio Therapeutics is undergoing clinical trials with 11 participants testing the AuriNovo ear, a personalized tissue implant to replace a missing ear in these patients.

As a rule, for patients with microtia, the ear is made of rib transplants or synthetic materials. Instead, 3DBio Therapeutics' experimental approach involves taking a biopsy from the patient's existing ear and extracting cartilage cells. Then they are grown and printed on a special 3D printer in the shape of the patient's ear. Such an implant continues to repair cartilage throughout a person's lifetime, and because it is made from their own cells, it is less likely to be rejected.