Because of their greater awaited impact on tomorrow’s economy, membrane technologies are considered as strategic or “dominant technologies” in many countries (notably the US, Japan, China). Very promising opportunities today offered by the development of new materials designed at the nanoscale level (nanotubes, mixed matrices, auto assembly…) include artificial organs or biological fluids purification in the health area. With cell membranes as an ultimate model, these breakthrough biomimetic approaches offer a privileged direction towards sustainable development as well as improved citizen health and well-being. This presentation gives not only a few typical technical examples of achievements with artificial organs or biological fluid purification, but also proposes a questioning on the large integration of material sciences and nanotechnologies, membrane engineering, education and technological acceptance which is required. In order to become a reality and to be totally accepted by the populations, these new technologies will need a lot of technical skills and expertise which will have to be diffused and shared through education. Finally the presentation also endeavours to show how the European Network of Excellence on Membrane Technologies, NanoMemPro, which is the instrument that Europe has chosen to structure the European Membrane Research Area and to regulate interfaces, has the potential to favour this kind of global and holistic approach.