Storage of cells and tissues at hypothermia for clinical use

The ability of cells and tissues to withstand periods of removal from, or severe changes in, their normal environment is a necessary consequence of many surgical and medical therapies, particularly in the growing area of transplantation. The sequence of changes in mammalian cells during ischaemia is discussed. Following from this, the ability of hypothermia to slow all cell metabolic processes is described, and the concept is introduced that hypothermia itself eventually causes cell damage. Current knowledge on hypothermic damage is outlined, and the biological basis for therapeutic measures to minimize this damage is described. Finally, brief descriptions are given for hypothermic storage regimes in use clinically at present.