Organ Preservation for Transplantation

Man's interest in prolongation of life is as old as his awareness of its limits. He is the only mortal who strives to prolong his existence. Observation of hibernating animals led to the conclusion that a temporary slowing down of biologic processes might be a way to prolong life. As the task was soon found to be difficult, the main effort was directed toward preservation of some parts of one body in order to replace others. Only recently has the practical application of this concept become successful enough to be used in clinical situations. The idea of a tissue or organ bank as an "emerging medical technology" is still far from full realization, but the effort to perfect it continues. A. M. Karow decided, with 23 other investigators, to write a comprehensive review of this fascinating work. The authors are persons working in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.