World's first ever 3D printed heart created in 'major medical breakthrough'

A team of scientists has created the first ever 3D printed heart using human tissue and blood samples.

The organ is about the size of a cherry and can’t pump blood – but experts are still calling it a ‘major medical breakthrough’, Metro reports.

Tal Dvir, from Tel Aviv University in Isreal led the project and said how it was made with human cells. ''People have managed to 3D-print the structure of a heart in the past, but not with cells or with blood vessels,'' he explained.

He said this is the first time ''anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers.''

The organ, which is roughly the size of a rabbit’s heart, can contract – but it can’t go through the full pumping motion. The research team used cells multiplied from a sample of human fatty tissue to create the heart.