It was over two years ago when scientists at Vanderbilt University said that they wanted to make an artificial kidney, so that people suffering from renal failure could be implanted with them.

Now, it seems like the idea isn't too far into the future, thanks to nanotechnology advances that can actually help save people's lives.

With a shortage of kidney donors, difficulties in blood type matches and rejection, and unfavorable prospects with dialysis, there's no doubt that an alternative is needed to further improve the lives of people suffering from renal failure.

According to IFLScience:

"So clearly there is a need for an alternative, which is what Vanderbilt researchers, in collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco, hope to ultimately achieve. A major part of the system they are developing is a nanofilter made of silicon that basically fishes out unwanted molecules from the blood, like waste products, excess water, and salt. This is the kidney's main job, and also the role of dialysis machines, but progress in nanotechnology has led to better, more uniform pores that could mean more efficient filtering than the membranes across which molecules are exchanged in dialysis."

The device is the size of a coffee cup - which means it's not too far from the size of an actual kidney. What makes this technology even better is that kidney removal isn't necessary to make room for the device.

In fact, the artificial kidney is designed in such a way that it can simply be inserted near the organs and connected to both the patient's blood supply and bladder.

While this research development is groundbreaking, a lot still has to be done. Thankfully, the research team has just been given $6 million to pursue human trials within the decade, as announced on Tuesday at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week.

The implantable artificial kidney project is reportedly going to be included in the FDA's new fast-track program, which hopes to speed up the process of the device's approval.