If an organ fails, we must either replace it or do without. Usually the replacement organ comes from someone else, which means that the body will reject it unless drugs are taken to cripple the immune system. Today several organs, including the larynx and the bladder, have been grown on special scaffolding. With nanotech to build far more complex and precise scaffolding, we will be able to create most organs this way from the patient's own cells, thus allowing rejection-free transplantation.
Artificial organs will become far more feasible. Today, artificial hearts have been used in a few cases, and the use of external artificial kidneys (dialysis) is common. These devices don't work very well, though they are certainly better than nothing. However, a nanotech-built device could use the body's own energy supply--glucose and oxygen--for power, and could be far more sensitive and responsive to the body's condition
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