Despite all the great strides in creating artificial organs, at the moment, transplantation has many problems, and it’s not only about the shortage of donor organs, but also on their transport, because very few tissues capable of long period to remain viable outside the human body. However, all may change with the developments of the company Biomedica Arigos, who plan to open a network of banks of donor organs, where they can be stored for a very long time.
As the authors note, in order for the authority to maintain its viability – it is necessary to cool to a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius. And this wouldn’t be a problem, if not one “but”: during this process, the water component of the decent part of the body turns into ice and begins to “cut the body from the inside out” destroying the cell membrane and vascular network.
The company Arigos Biomedica has developed a technology in which the vessels are filled with gaseous helium. It is non-toxic, not kristallizuetsya and gives additional shock absorption vessels. During a series of experiments, scientists have successfully frozen and thawed kidney and heart of pigs, after which they remained viable. This year experts want to continue to study and begin a transplant of unfrozen bodies of animals and, if successful, by 2020, will start experiments with participation of people.
In theory, this technology could become the basis for the creation of a network of banks of donor organs, which will indefinitely store the bodies until they someone would be required. The startup has already received $ 1 million investment, however, there technologies and disadvantages: the approach of using helium is suitable only for isolated organs with extensive vascular network and is not suitable for freezing limbs entirely.
American startup has learned how to safely freeze the bodies for a long time
Vladimir Kuznetsov