Lab Tissue Engineering: Growing Organs Without Animal Sacrifice

Tissue engineering creates functional human tissues and organs in the laboratory, promising to reduce animal use in transplantation research and drug testing.

Key Facts

Researchers have successfully grown skin, cartilage, bladders, and tracheas using tissue engineering
3D bioprinting can layer cells with precision to create complex tissue structures
Tissue-engineered liver models replicate drug metabolism more accurately than animal liver tests
The global tissue engineering market is projected to exceed 15 billion dollars by 2030
Tissue engineering could eventually eliminate the need for animal organ models in many applications
Stem cell advances have made it possible to create patient-specific tissues without immune rejection

Welfare Considerations

Every tissue-engineered organ or tissue model that replaces an animal organ experiment represents real welfare gains — animals not subjected to surgery, stress, and death for research purposes. The scientific benefits reinforce the welfare case: human tissue models better predict human responses to drugs and treatments, reducing the translation failures that waste research resources. Investment in tissue engineering is therefore simultaneously an investment in better science and in animal welfare. Accelerating this technology could prevent millions of animal experiments over coming decades.

What You Can Do

Support funding for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research
Advocate for regulatory policies that accept tissue-engineered models in safety testing
Choose products from companies investing in tissue engineering alternatives to animal testing
Donate to institutions developing tissue-engineered alternatives to animal models
Engage with your elected representatives about funding non-animal research alternatives