Gm. Fahy et Se. Ali, CRYOPRESERVATION OF THE MAMMALIAN KIDNEY .2. DEMONSTRATION OF IMMEDIATE EX-VIVO FUNCTION AFTER INTRODUCTION AND REMOVAL OF 7.5 M CRYOPROTECTANT, Cryobiology, 35(2), 1997, pp. 114-131
The objective of the present study was to determine whether rabbit kid
neys could be perfused with a 7.5 M vitrification solution (VS4, which
vitrifies under applied pressure) without loss of function. To answer
this question, kidneys were perfused with VS4 using a computer-based
machine to gradually raise and lower concentration and then attached t
o the aorta and vena cava of a perfusor rabbit using an apparatus that
permitted renal blood how and renal function to be measured. About ha
lf (6/13) of the kidneys so evaluated resumed substantial immediate fu
nction after a transient period of severely reduced blood flow. Loss o
f function did not occur if cryoprotectant concentration was limited t
o 3.8 M. The loss of function produced by VS4 could be partially repro
duced by artificially limiting blood reflow in control kidneys to simu
late the transiently low flows caused by VS4 exposure. These results p
rovide the first evidence that both the parenchyma and the vascular sy
stem of a sensitive mammalian organ can survive exposure to a vitrifia
ble concentration of cryoprotectant. (C) 1997 Academic Press.