NEW ATLAS - A new two-step process that safely rewarms frozen tissues using nanoscale magnetic rods could help preserve donor organs long-term. The procedure provides an alternative to current time-limited methods and paves the way for more life-saving transplantations.
The gold-standard method for preserving organs prior to transplantation is static cold storage, which involves flushing the organ with preservation solution at zero to 4 °C (32–39 °F) before immersing it in preservation solution at the same temperature. However, this method provides only a short window for transplantation, depending on organ type.
Vitrification offers a means of long-term, damage-free preservation of organs. Unlike conventional freezing, which causes liquids to transition into a crystalline state, vitrification uses a cryoprotective agent to keep the fluids in a glass-like, amorphous state as the temperature drops and molecules slow down. The problem is that uniform and rapid heating is needed to prevent the formation of ice crystals. Now, researchers from the Universities of Minnesota and California, Riverside, have devised a two-step method of safely and quickly thawing and rewarming organs using nanoscale magnetic rods.