In the United States, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) keeps a database of transplant candidates waiting for organs. The statistics are daunting: Demand for organs has outstripped the available supply, meaning that patients must wait for months or years before receiving an organ. According to LifeShare (via our article), each passing day brings another 106 people onto the list. Another 18 people also die each day, still waiting for the kidney, heart, liver or lung that could have saved their lives.

But this could change, and sooner than you might think. There have been a number of proposals for expanding the supply of available organs, including everything from improving the regenerative capabilities of damaged organs to creating entirely new ones through cloning.

There’s another possibility on the horizon: Printing organs. As Dr. Anthony Atala explained to an amazed crowd at a TED talk, the same principles used in 3-D printer technology can be applied to printing replacement organs.

Please check out the video below: If you can’t watch the whole clip, skip to 10:56 and watch as they print a two-chambered heart in a modified desktop printer. I’m astonished. It’s in the experimental stage for now — but within our lifetimes, it’s quite possible that this process could save lives.

Could this be the future of organ transplants? Are there any ethical concerns with manufacturing human organs? Comment below and let me know what you think.