Is this the coolest solution to our donor-organ shortage? Researchers have discovered a way of freezing embryonic animal kidneys so that they can later be warmed up and grown into full-size organs without the risk of rejection by their recipient.
The results suggest we may one day be able to create a long-term biobank of animal kidneys that provides an unlimited source of organs for transplanting in people.
There are three major hurdles for human organ transplantation: the number of organs available, rejection of the organ by the host’s immune system, and timing, because human kidneys can only be kept alive for 30 hours or less outside the body.
