From Science Alert
Researchers have developed a technique that allows them to rapidly thaw cryopreserved human and pig samples without damaging the tissue - a development that could help get rid of organ transplant waiting lists.Read more: http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-a-way-to-rapidly-thaw-cryopreserved-tissue-without-damageCryopreservation is the ability to preserve tissues at liquid nitrogen temperatures for long periods of time and bring them back without damage, and it's something scientists have been dreaming about achieving with large tissue samples and organs for decades.
Not only for the life-extending applications we've read about in sci-fi novels, but, more feasibly, because the technology could allow hospitals to safely store organs for long periods of time.
Right now, 22 people die in the US each day on average while waiting for an organ transplant. One of the biggest challenges isn't organ shortages - it's that organs can't stay 'on ice' longer than a few hours without being irrevocably damaged.
That means even when there are enough organs being donated, there's still the huge logistical problem in finding a matching recipient and getting the organs to them fast enough.
Already it's estimated that more than 60 percent of the heart and lungs donated for transplantation each year are thrown out, because they can't be kept on ice more than four hours, and can't make it to a patient who needs them in that time.
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