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In recent years, cryobiologists have made significant advances towards preventing the ice damage that occurs when human beings are frozen. During laboratory experiments in animals, vitrified kidneys have regained function after being cryopreserved to temperatures between –45 and –130 degrees Celsius. The techniques that have enabled these advances are now offered to human patients by cryonics organizations.
Unfortunately, comparable progress has not been made toward eliminating the biochemical damage that occurs before human beings are cryopreserved. Ischemia (lack of blood flow) may cause injury that is even more devastating than freezing damage. While many people remain optimistic about the possibility for cellular repair of cryopreserved patients using future sciences such as nanotechnology, we are concerned that some forms of severe biochemical injury may be difficult or impossible to reverse.
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