Shulamit Levenberg's lab bioprints living tissue flap with its own blood supply

Biomedical engineers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology announced on 15 March 2026 that they had bioprinted a first-of-its-kind implantable tissue flap that contains muscle and fat, a lymphatic network and a branching system of blood vessels, together with a built-in artery-and-vein loop that can be connected directly to the patient's circulation. The study, led by Professor Shulamit Levenberg of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering with physician and doctoral student Dr. Eliana Fischer and doctoral student Anna Tsukerman, was published in Cell Biomaterials with plastic surgeons from Tokushima University in Japan.

Surgeons who repair large wounds, for example after severe injuries, burns or the removal of tumours, often have to move a flap of tissue from elsewhere in the patient's body, a procedure that creates a second wound and is not always possible. Engineered tissue has long been seen as an alternative, but thick lab-grown tissue tends to die because it lacks a blood supply. The Technion team printed its flap using a bio-ink made from components of the natural extracellular matrix and then matured it in a bioreactor under flowing conditions so that its vessels developed before implantation.

In experiments in rats, using engineered tissue made from human cells, connecting the flap's vessel loop at the implant site led to rapid integration, stable blood flow, a continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients, normal muscle development and stable fat cells. According to the university, the flap became part of the surrounding tissue both in appearance and in function. Tests in larger animals have begun as the next step toward clinical trials.

The project was funded by the European Research Council and the Japanese company Nichia through a joint programme with Tokushima University.