Impact

With the dawning of a new era come the new innovations in science and technology. These innovations have revolutionized the way people live and how they act. The field of Cryobiology has made it possible to do many of the things we do today, and it is expected to help with many things in the future.

Cryopreservation is now used to store blood for up to 10 years. This means that blood banks can preserve rare blood types for many years without it going to waste. This also allows the common citizen to give his own blood to be stored in case he ever needs a transfusion; this ensures that the person does not catch any diseases from someone else’s blood. Second, Cryopreservation makes it possible for sperm and oocytes, or eggs, to be stored. This is especially helpful for cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy but would still like to have children (1).

There is one area inside Cryopreservation that is being researched right now. It is organ cryopreservation. As of right now they have not found a successful way to preserve organs but it is a great area of interest. Organ freezing is an especially interesting research area because it could lead to the possibility of freezing organs for transplants. A hospital or an organ bank could house such organs as hearts and lungs, which normally have about a six hour window, for common use. There is much new advancement that presents the possibility of reliable organ freezing techniques in the future (17).  Cryopreservation is expanding its horizons and coming each day closer to even greater achievements in the field of science.

Cryosurgery is now being used to treat prostate and skin cancers, among others. The use of freezing agents to treat prostate cancer began in the 1960s. While now it is about as successful as radiation and other therapies, it a simple procedure that allows patients to get back to their daily lives. In other words, the use of Cryosurgery to treat prostate cancer allows patients a quick and easy way to treat tumors (6). Skin cancers can be treated now through Cryosurgery, with little chance of the cancer returning. One study found that in 90 out of 100 patients the cancer did not return (20).

Cryonics is a field where no concrete results have been found yet; there is no science to back up the belief that Cryonics is possible. This lack of results does not deter some people from believing that someday a way to revive those in suspended animation will be possible (21).