As of May 2025, more than 103,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant. Beyond the shortage of donor organs, a major reason why patients die while waiting for a life-saving donation is the short window for preservation. A suitable match may not arrive before an organ loses viability.

Today, transplant organs are typically kept cool, essentially in a high-tech version of a refrigerator. But this method preserves them for less than 48 hours, drastically limiting the logistics of delivering organs to patients in need.

Freezing organs in the form of cryopreservation is believed to be a potential solution. Long-term storage could increase the number of available organs, allow better matching between donors and recipients, and improve transplant quality.