JERUSALEM (JTA) — Scientists in Israel made a 3D print of a heart using human tissue and vessels.

It is the first time that an entire heart has been successfully printed that includes cells and blood vessels, the AFP news service reported, citing Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University, who led the project.

It will be a long time, however, before such a printed heart will be fully functioning and ready to be transplanted into a human patient, the scientists said.

The next step is for researchers to teach the printed hearts to act like real ones.