Wood frog’s freeze-thaw trick guides long‑term organ preservation
A North American wood frog survives winter by freezing 65–70% of its body water and stopping its heart and breathing, then thawing in spring. Researchers are translating this into organ preservation strategies, using frog-inspired steps like controlled ice formation and a glucose-based antifreeze to extend storage windows. Notably, five human livers have been kept viable for 27 hours at -4°C, and pig kidneys were preserved for 10 days in demonstration work, with thawing remaining the key hurdle. The goal is to move organ storage from hours to days by reproducing the frog’s protective sequence in human tissues.
