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Worldbuilding

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    $\begingroup$ Science would like a word. ;) (We can totally 3D print organs). I think the TLDR of this answer is "you still need to ship the raw materials." $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 27, 2016 at 0:53
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    $\begingroup$ @Draco18s It is relevant to note that in the case of the link you have (and its links) you still need the cells to be able to print the organ from the cells. So someone still has to make the cells; and that isn't exactly trivial. What I mean by 'there is no way to print 3-d complex organics' is that there is no way to create complex organics from, say, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. You can assemble complex organics into other complex organics with 3-d printing just fine. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 27, 2016 at 1:30
  • $\begingroup$ I think that is more of a "not yet" problem. That is, growing specialized cells from stem cells is easy (we've done that), getting stem cells that match the patient is difficult, but doable (we've managed to de-specialize cells from an adult into a type of stem cell). It's not quite to the point of "press print, get organ" but we can do it and getting to the "press button, get organ" level is probably a decade worth of active research. i.e. not impossible, just hard. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 28, 2016 at 2:07
  • $\begingroup$ If bulk-shipping stem cells across interplanetary distances is economically viable, then it's likely also viable to build a facility for stem cell reproduction on each planet with a decent population. But small-scale shipping to less populated worlds or habitats could be viable. Bulk shipping in space is expensive (with current tech), but a container ship gets cheaper the more it carries. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 28, 2016 at 15:55