30-Day Partial Freezing of a Pig Kidney
Outcome/Accomplishment
Researchers at the NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (NSF ERC) for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (NSF ATP-Bio), co-led by the University of Minnesota and the Massachusetts General Hospital, demonstrated for the first time that a pig kidney can be preserved at ultra-low temperatures for up to a month, using a partial freezing approach.
Impact/Benefits
Roughly 20% of kidneys donated for transplants each year don’t reach recipients in time for the procedure. Kidneys are kept on ice, where they last only a few hours. Longer-lasting cryopreservation techniques typically lead to damaging ice formation and cracking upon rewarming. The NSF ATP-Bio results are a first step towards achieving successful long-term human kidney storage.
Explanation/Background
Utilizing a step-wise loading, thermally dynamic protocol, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Korkut Uygun lab loaded pig kidneys with a novel storage cocktail containing a mixture of cryoprotective agents (CPAs). After, the kidneys were submerged and stored at -15o C. Thanks to the CPA cocktail, ice that forms during this storage phase is locally restricted to the vasculature, minimizing intracellular ice and negating potential membrane lysis. For more information see:
Kolata, G. (2025, April 14). Frozen kidney transplant marks a breakthrough in organ preservation. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/health/frozen-kidney-organ-transplant.html
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesotawebsite
Start Year
Biotechnology and Healthcare
Biotechnology and Healthcare
Lead Institution
Core Partners
Fact Sheet
Outcome/Accomplishment
Researchers at the NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (NSF ERC) for Advanced Technologies for the Preservation of Biological Systems (NSF ATP-Bio), co-led by the University of Minnesota and the Massachusetts General Hospital, demonstrated for the first time that a pig kidney can be preserved at ultra-low temperatures for up to a month, using a partial freezing approach.
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesotawebsite
Start Year
Biotechnology and Healthcare
Biotechnology and Healthcare
Lead Institution
Core Partners
Fact Sheet
Impact/benefits
Roughly 20% of kidneys donated for transplants each year don’t reach recipients in time for the procedure. Kidneys are kept on ice, where they last only a few hours. Longer-lasting cryopreservation techniques typically lead to damaging ice formation and cracking upon rewarming. The NSF ATP-Bio results are a first step towards achieving successful long-term human kidney storage.
Explanation/Background
Utilizing a step-wise loading, thermally dynamic protocol, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Korkut Uygun lab loaded pig kidneys with a novel storage cocktail containing a mixture of cryoprotective agents (CPAs). After, the kidneys were submerged and stored at -15o C. Thanks to the CPA cocktail, ice that forms during this storage phase is locally restricted to the vasculature, minimizing intracellular ice and negating potential membrane lysis. For more information see:
Kolata, G. (2025, April 14). Frozen kidney transplant marks a breakthrough in organ preservation. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/health/frozen-kidney-organ-transplant.html