CLEVELAND — Freezing human organs sounds like science fiction, but it's not a novel concept.
We freeze embryos, eggs, and sperm as well as other biomedical specimens. It's known as cryopreservation.
"Basically, it's rapid freezing and then rapid thawing without damaging the organ," Lifebanc CEO Gordon Bowen says.
Lifebanc is one of several organizations funding research that may one day help those on the transplant waiting list. Recently, a study was published about the latest research.
The biggest obstacle is time: By the time an organ is procured, the clock starts ticking to find a suitable recipient. Without ex vivo assistance — meaning a device that can flush, cool, and keep an organ functional outside the body — time is limited.
Ex vivo is already used for hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys, and can extend time before the organ is unusable. In the case of a kidney, which is the longest, it's still less than 72 hours.
Without ex vivo, it's less than 36 hours, and unfortunately, finding a recipient doesn't happen fast enough.
"Nationally, 30% of kidneys are discarded because you can't find a home for them," Bowen said.
But last year, the University of Minnesota was able to freeze, thaw, and transplant a rat kidney that was able to function. That gives Bowen hope that, in the next few years, the process might work in people.
"With 110,000-plus people on the national waiting list, about 80,000 are waiting for kidney transplants," Bowen explained, "so that would be ideal if this process worked."
Another hitch to time is the fact that the federal government expanded the service areas of organ procurement agencies to ensure organs get to the sickest patients first. In years past, 70% of Lifebanc procured organs went to a local hospital in Northeast Ohio. Today, it's less than 30%, because the range shifted to a 250 mile radius.
Cutting edge research in cryopreservation could potentially make long waiting lists a thing of the past, because frozen organs could last days until a perfect match is found. But until that day comes, organ donors are still desperately needed.
"Every day 22 people die across the United States because an organ is not available, that's about one to one and a half people every day in Ohio," Bowen said.
