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Should the aortic valve homograft be recryopreserved?
A Ohkado1, M Hachida, H Furukawa
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Institute of Japan, Tokyo Women's Medical College.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|May 16, 1998
Summary
Re-freezing thawed aortic valve homografts significantly reduces fibroblast viability, making them unsuitable for transplantation. This study demonstrates that once-thawed homografts cannot be re-cryopreserved for future use.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Tissue Engineering
- Cryobiology
Background:
- Limited availability of homograft donors necessitates exploring methods to preserve tissue viability.
- Once-thawed homografts may become unsuitable, leading to wastage and impacting patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of re-cryopreserving once-thawed aortic valve homografts.
- To assess the viability of fibroblasts after a single thaw and subsequent re-cryopreservation cycle.
Main Methods:
- Canine aortic valve leaflets were cryopreserved, thawed, and a subset was re-exposed to 4°C before re-cryopreservation.
- Pathologic and flow cytometric analyses were conducted to evaluate tissue integrity and fibroblast viability.
Main Results:
- While fiber alignment was maintained post-thaw, fibroblast membranes and cytoplasm showed damage.
- Fibroblast viability decreased from 90.7% after initial thawing to 39.4% after re-thawing.
- Significant viability loss occurred during the re-freezing process.
Conclusions:
- Re-cryopreservation of once-thawed aortic valve homografts is not viable due to substantial fibroblast damage.
- Current methods do not support the re-use of thawed homografts, highlighting the need for alternative preservation strategies.