Cryopreservation: Future Perspectives from Organ Transplantation to Cryonics

This book discusses the state of cryobiology, which is currently developing into an important and innovative field of medicine. It is already routine to preserve and revive cells and small tissue samples through cooling. The current development of organ cryopreservation with the aim of preserving human transplant organs and making them available to remedy the shortage of transplants will be discussed. Preservation of the entire human body is also a long-term goal which may come a little more into reach by such development. The processes involved in the cooling of tissues, using vitrification and cryoprotection, are discussed in detail. The many experiments on cells, tissues and organs at non-cryogenic and cryogenic temperatures below 0°C are compiled and evaluated. Obstacles to the methods and the development of means to overcome them are another topic. The astonishing survival of cells following oxygen deprivation is presented with regard to the still inadequate methods of post-mortem tissue cryopreservation. The possibilities of repairing and reactivating tissues form another chapter. The book ends with an outlook on the development of amazing new methods and procedures for cryoprotection, the prevention of ice crystals and stress fractures, and the restoration of tissues. The work addresses a general audience as well as academics and, in particular, scientists who want to find out about the state of research in the field of cryobiology cryoprotection in general and organ and body preservation in particular.