Supercooled pig kidneys recover after transplantation

Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a compact device that keeps organs at -4 °C (25 °F) without forming ice by holding them submerged under constant pressure. In pig studies, kidneys preserved in the system for 24, 48, or 72 hours were rewarmed and transplanted back into the animals, where they resumed function.

The results suggest supercooling may outperform standard ice storage, which typically keeps kidneys viable for around 24 hours. Kidneys stored in the device for 24 hours began producing urine immediately after transplant and appeared to function normally within about 10 days, while organs stored for 48 and 72 hours performed similarly. Kevin Myer of LifeGift called the work “a landmark achievement.”

The longer preservation window could help address transplant logistics in the US, where more than 104,000 people are waiting for a kidney and 17 people die every day while waiting for a transplant. The organs also showed longer-term durability: during a 30-day period, pigs grew by around 30% and the transplanted kidneys grew with them, and one kidney still looked healthy after 200 days. The team hopes to seek accelerated approval from the US Food and Drug Administration because the method does not use cryoprotective chemicals.