CollPlant: The Future of Regenerative Medicine

Post By: Gabriella Wolf 
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​          A new start up in Israel promises to change the future of regenerative medicine -- they claim they can 3D print new organs and tissues. Across America, there is a huge shortage of organ donations. More than 113,000 are on waiting lists for an organ, and about 20 people die each day from not receiving a life-saving transplant in time. This new technology can be a solution that can save countless lives globally, while also helping the environment.          
        The new technology focuses on printing human tissue, which can be used for a variety of different medical needs. They are focusing on 3D printing full organs, but they also are going to utilize their technology to “developing and commercializing tissue repair products for orthobiologics, and advanced wound care markets.” The tissue is created mainly using rhCollagen, which is recombinant human collagen.
          The collagen is grown using plant based technology, which is economically good because of its low production cost. They use human collagen, which is genetically engineered to grow inside tobacco plants. This technology connects the company with local farmers and together they can mass produce the substance needed to create this regenerative material. Using plant based materials is effective because it is good for the environment, and the producers do not have to pay heavy costs for fancy chemical machinery to genetically produce a fake material. The material they have created does not only have to be used by their company, they have created a "building block" to a whole new world of medical regenerative technology.
This new product will hopefully change the future of regenerative medicine. The ability to save lives using natural, non-allergenic material will speed up the process of bioengineering the specific needs of patients. Especially because of the low cost to produce, and the expansive possible uses of their product, this new tissue could be the new lifesaving medical breakthrough. Although the technology has not been put into public use yet, it is a promising insight into the future of regenerative medicine. 

Sources: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-collplant-reports-commercialization-underway-1001183534
https://www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html
https://www.collplant.com