德州农工大学研究人员Matthew Powell Palm团队开发了一项器官保存技术，将猪肾脏冷却至−4°C而不形成冰晶，实现了体外长期保存的重大进展[2]。这种深度冷冻方法使器官保存时间延长至72小时，超过现有临床标准（18-24小时）的三倍[2]。经过超冷处理的猪肾脏被成功移植入受体动物，移植后立即开始产生尿液，并在约10天内恢复正常功能[2]。Powell Palm表示，"这是历史上首次报告的此类成果"[2]。
器官短缺是全球移植医学面临的重大挑战[1]。美国超过104,000人正在等待肾脏移植，每天因等待移植而死亡的患者达17人，某些年份被放弃的捐献肾脏比例约占三分之一[2]。现有冰保存技术通常只能维持器官生存约24小时[2]。长期监测显示，一只猪的移植肾脏在200天的观察期内仍保持健康状态[2]。此外，初步研究表明，保存120小时的器官也显示出健康迹象[2]。
研究人员正探索多种体外器官保存方法，包括极端冷冻、化学保护剂和机器灌注系统[1]。机器灌注设备已能维持肝脏和肾脏的活力约24小时[1]，而Valencia的科学家利用灌注系统将人类子宫保活一天[1]。这些技术的发展最终目标是建立器官库，进行检测和配型，从根本上缓解供体器官短缺问题[1]。
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a deep-freezing technique that preserves organs at −4°C without ice crystal formation, marking a significant advance in addressing the critical shortage of donor organs [2]. Led by Matthew Powell Palm, the team successfully transplanted supercooled pig kidneys into recipient pigs after 72-hour storage periods, a duration three times longer than the current clinical standard of 18 to 24 hours [2]. According to Powell Palm, "It's the first time this has ever been reported in history" [2].
The breakthrough carries substantial clinical implications. More than 104,000 patients in the United States are currently awaiting kidney transplants, with approximately 17 people dying each day while waiting for organs [2]. Additionally, roughly one-third of donated kidneys are discarded in certain years in the United States [2]. The supercooled kidneys demonstrated rapid functional recovery after transplantation, with one kidney that had been stored for 24 hours immediately producing urine and achieving normal function within approximately ten days [2]. Long-term follow-up data showed that after 200 days of monitoring, transplanted kidneys remained healthy, with recipient pigs gaining approximately 30 percent in body weight and their transplanted kidneys nearly doubling in size [2].
Beyond this specific achievement, scientists are exploring multiple preservation methodologies to establish organ banks for testing and matching [1]. Researchers have employed extreme cryopreservation at −196°C for decades to preserve eggs, sperm, and embryos [1], while machine perfusion devices can maintain liver and kidney viability for approximately 24 hours [1]. These complementary approaches collectively represent a multifaceted effort to overcome the fundamental limitation that organs can survive only hours outside the body, even when stored on ice [1].
