Printing the Future of Medicine: Vital3D’s Mission to Solve Organ Shortages as well as Advance Cancer Treatment

I swapped emails with Vidmantas Sakalys, CEO and co-founder of Vital3D Technologies, a Lithuanian startup on a mission to 3D-print the stuff of life—kidneys, tumors, and maybe one day, entire organs. Can you tell us a little about yourself and what led you to this work? I am Vidmantas Sakalys, CEO and co-founder ofVital3DTechnologies, a Lithuanian biotechnology company founded in 2021. Our mission is to pioneer advanced 3D bioprinting solutions that could one day solve the global shortage of donor organs, starting with kidneys, which are in highest demand. Today, our team of ten experts in lasers, biotechnology, software, and engineering is developing the Key Light 3D bioprinter for research institutions, alongside offering “printing as a service” for medical models, tissues, and organ structures. The idea for Vital3D was born from a discussion with my co-founder, laser scientist Dr. Linas Jonušauskas, about how safe green laser light could be used in bioprinting. Having lost a close colleague to kidney disease, I was personally driven to pursue this vision. With aid from our third co-founder, Prof. Dr. Paulius Pakutinskas, and partnerships with leading universities in Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Germany, we are combining science, engineering, and innovation to push the boundaries of regenerative medicine. Before Vital3D, I spent over two decades in IT and later led Femtika, a laser microfabrication startup, from three employees to nearly forty. That experience, along with over ten years in photonics, shaped my passion for building companies at the intersection of advanced technologies and real-world impact. With Vital3D, our ambition is clear: to become a global leader in organ and tissue printing, helping to save lives by addressing one of healthcare’s most urgent challenges. You also plan to use the technology to boost cancer lab models. What’s wrong with the cancer lab models scientists use today? Most cancer research today still relies on 2D cell cultures or animal models. The problem is that these models don’t accurately mimic how cancer behaves in the human body. Cells grown flat on a dish miss the 3D architecture, cell-to-cell interactions, and microenvironments that tumors have in real patients. Animal models can support, but they often don’t predict how humans will respond to treatments. That gap is why many promising drugs fail in clinical trials. How does a 3D printer actually make something like a tumor? Instead of using plastics or metals like traditional 3D printers, bioprinters usebioinks—mixtures of living cells and biomaterials. At Vital3D, this is done with a highly focused laser beam that shapes the bioink with light. The laser can be adjusted like a “pencil” for fine structures (such as tiny blood vessels) or a “brush” for building larger tissue areas. Layer by layer, these cells are arranged into a structure that mimics the architecture of a real tumor, allowing scientists to study how it grows and responds to drugs. Could this aid doctors figure out which treatment works most supportive for each patient? Yes, that’s one of the most exciting possibilities. By bioprinting a tumor model from a patient’s own cells, doctors could test different drugs on that “mini-tumor” before deciding on a treatment plan. This kind of personalized medicine could dramatically enhance outcomes, since therapies would be chosen based on how a patient’s cancer actually behaves rather than on averages from large clinical trials. How far away are we from printing whole organs? We’re not there yet, printing a fully functional organ like a kidney or heart is still 5–10 years away. The biggest challenges are creating blood vessel networks (vascularization), ensuring the printed tissue matures properly, and making it safe and compatible for transplants. That said, progress is real: researchers are already printing simpler tissues, organoids, and models that are invaluable for drug testing and surgical planning. What excites you most about Vital3D technology’s future? Bioprinting will be changing the way we are living, and in a very positive way – we will be able to get a healthier life, especially in our late years. With the whole society getting older on average, it will impact more and more people, enabling them to share life’s wisdom, making the world better place to live. *********************************************************************** Other gems from the blog: What is thelink between COVID boosters and Influenza-like Illness? Dr. Karam’s Story: My Radiation Therapy, Part 1 *********************************************************************** You can contact Dr. Eeks atbloomingwellness. com. Follow Eeks onInstagramhere. OrFacebookhere. OrX. OnYoutube. OrTikTok. SUBSCRIBE to her monthly newsletter here! (Now featuring interviews with top experts on well-being you care about!)