"An engineering firm has developed a 3D bio-printer that could one day be used to create organs on demand for organ replacement surgery. The device is already capable of growing arteries and its creators say that arteries "printed" by the device could be used in heart bypass surgery in as little as five years. Meanwhile, more complex organs such as hearts, and teeth and bone should be possible within ten years."
http://www.gizmag.com/3d-bio-printer/13609/
It sounds like organs as complex as a breast implant might be possible in 10 years. A manufactured organic womb for infertile women. Many possibilities for stories including new unique designs.
-Kylie
Manufacturing wombs
With respect to SRS, it has always seemed to me that using skin to form inner surface of the vagina was the wrong thing to do. Skin isn't designed for that, and it's therefore no surprise that trans women have to go through the "sticking the post up" business every night to stop the sides of the vagina growing together again.
Where does this fit in with the original post? Well, I don't think you actually need a printer to achieve a reasonable womb/vagina structure, although it would certainly help. The way I see it, something like gum tissue is a better material to make female internal organs out of, as it is 'designed' to exist in a damp environment and not stick to other tissues in the mouth.
Take a biopsy and harvest a small amount, then multiply them up in a lab. At the same time, construct a framework out of biodegradeable material which is the same size and shape as the desired organs. Perhaps this is where the printer could be used, but in the early development stages it's not essential.
Then, take your soup of gum cells and combine with the framework, and you should end up with a wholly compatible vagina to implant into your SRS subject. The artificial framework will be gradually be replaced with suitable cartilage etc. by the body over time.
This technique is already being used to make replacement body parts. Anyone remember the mouse running around with a human ear on it's back?
Anything that makes the trans experience more realistic would be okay with me.
Penny
One problem with womb implantation
Hi Penny:
This 3D organ printing concept reminds me of the device used in "The Fifth Element", a Bruce Willis movie of several years ago. I think the best solution for the T delema would be to examine the fetus in the first trimester to see if there are problems. Or, perhaps the environment in the womb of the mother is problematic? At the rate of increase in knowlege I have seen just since I was born, I can't imagine not being much closer to a solution in another 60 years.
So, this printing of organs, would come alongside pre-pubescent identification of T folk, so that they can get appropriate hormone therapy to cause her pelvis to mature correctly, among many other things. In a male, say 20 years old, I just don't think that at this time a womb implantation would be viable, though I did write it into "Desert Princess". At the time, I was simply exploring the idea from a psychological point of view.
It would be so interesting to speak with an expert in Human Anatomy, to have them explain our differences.
Much peace
Khadijah
Tricky one
If you do as suggested and test the child while still in the womb, and then make a decision based on that, aren't you just making the same kind of mistake doctors are making now post-delivery? "This child has male organs, he must therefore be a male."
In your scenario, it would be "This fetus appears to be developing female leanings even though there are obvious signs of masculine physical development. Let's change it to a girl!"
I'm not sure anyone could have figured out what I really was from looking at me as a baby, or, indeed, until about the age of 10. I was just too innocent to understand the differences between genders (yes, it does happen!). Imagine if someone had made the call and got it wrong...
I'm not sure what the answer is, except perhaps letting all children develop in a neutral environment while giving them as much information as possible in order to base a decision on. Then, at some stage around about or just after puberty starts, conduct proper unbiased psychological tests (of a kind we just don't have yet) and then let the child make a decision based on that if they care to. Most would probably take the default option, but some like ourselves would be spared real pain and distress.
Penny
'neutral'
The difficulty is always that it cannot be neutral because of the obvious physical charcteristics. Hands up everyone who wondered when theirs was going to drop off, and then realised it was stuck there.
Neutral
Yeah, but there are ways...
I forget the link, didn't someone here point to a classroom experiment where teachers in one group kept referring to children during the day by gender, and in the other used 'neutral' words, with the result that the 'neutralised' children played together better, but the 'genderised' children separated into gender-biased groups?
That was the kind of thing I meant. Another way might be to dress the children in clothing from both sides of the divide to lessen differences. Thios, after all, is what happened in earlier times, although for different reasons.
Such things won't make a difference to most children, because of their innate sense of what they consider their gender to be. But for the likes of us, it could make a whole lot of difference.
Penny
PS What do you mean, it's not going to drop off?
Well
You know when you found out there was no tooth fairy? And then no Santa? And then no such thing as a free lunch?
Well, it turns out, unfortunately.....