Scientists in Canada have 3D-printed viable human testicular cells that they hope will eventually yield sperm from patients with forms of infertility that currently cannot be treated.

The team at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has been using a 3D bioprinter to create life-size models of human seminiferous tubules – the structures inside the testicles that normally produce sperm.

Stem cells taken from an infertile patient’s testicles didn’t only survive inside the artificial tubes – they thrived and showed early signs of sperm-producing capabilities, the researchers said.

The results of the study were published last month in the journal Fertility and Sterility Science but were only promoted by UBC last week.

Why this research?

In the most severe form of male infertility, known as non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), the production of sperm within sem