Maintenance of viable arterial allografts by cryopreservation.

An experimental study, designed to investigate the feasibility of maintaining fresh, viable arterial allografts by cryopreservation, is presented. Cryopreserved femoral arterial allografts were shown to be equal in patency rate when compared with fresh controls. The cryopreserved allografts were shown to be superior to fresh allografts in the parameters of intimal integrity, absence of host rejection, and reduced surface thrombogenicity. This experimental study supports the thesis that cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen, utilizing 15% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methylprednisolone as a cryoprotectant solution, is an excellent method of preserving and storing fresh allograft arteries for use as a small vessel replacement.