Cryopreservation of Complex Living Systems: The Missing Link in the Regenerative Medicine Supply Chain
G.M. Fahy
21st Century Medicine, Inc., 10844 Edison Court, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
The current research effort in regenerative medicine has involved the
expenditure of several billion US dollars to date, but relatively
little attention has been paid to the fate of engineered tissue
replacements between the time they are produced and the time they are
used (inventory control and supply chain management). The problems of
cryogenic banking of complex tissue replacements are much more serious
than those involved in ordinary cell and tissue banking, and new
technology will be required to overcome the limitations of current
methods. The best option for a wide range of engineered tissues and
organs is vitrification, wherein the development of ice is precluded
during cooling to and storage at cryogenic temperatures and the
construct is instead preserved in the vitreous or glassy state. My
laboratory has been pursuing this approach for many years using natural
organs as model systems and recently reported the first permanent
survival of a rabbit supported by a previously vitrified kidney as the
sole renal support. We have also demonstrated the compatibility of
vitrification with the physical integrity of Cordis-Dow Artificial
Kidneys. It therefore appears that vitreous banking of all tissue
engineered constructs is likely to be possible in the future, making it
practical to deliver replacement organs and tissues to patients when
and where they are needed. Projections of the impact of full use of
tissue engineering for the treatment of organ failure in aging patients
suggests that this approach alone could increase the probability of
surviving to the age of 90 from less than 5% currently to more than
40%, even with no direct progress in slowing down aging itself.
Key words:
cryopreservation, transplantation, life extension, vitrification, freezing
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