What Is Cryopreservation?
Author: Gray Rollins

When most people hear the word cryopreservation, they probably
think "cryo what?" If they do know anything about
cryopreservation, it has to do with Walt Disney, Ted Williams,
and a bunch of other frozen people waiting to be thawed out and
cured hundreds of years from now. But for people who are unable
to have children, cryogenics is a very different and personal
topic. Cryopreservation in itself simply refers to freezing
biological organisms. This may not seem like something terribly
practical to study, but it can be used for suspended animation
of people with illnesses, artificial reproduction, and many
other practical causes.

In cryopreservation, special processes are used so the cell
processes stop, but are only suspended. This state is called
suspended animation. If proper techniques are used, the tissue
can be thawed, revived, and regain function as if they were
never frozen. Tissues can be revived after an indefinite amount
of time making the possibilities of this process practically
limitless.

One practical application of cryopreservation is for artificial
insemination. In this case, sperm are frozen at very low
temperatures and can be stored for extended periods of time.
When defrosted, they regain motility and can be inserted into a
female to produce a pregnancy. This has been used widely in
situations where conventional fertilization is not an option
including: same sex couples, women who wish to start a family
on their own, and couples where the man has become infertile or
is no longer able to achieve an erection. When men are
undergoing a surgery where they may lose erectile function or
fertility, they are often given the option of donating sperm so
they have the possibility of conceiving at a later date.

Another increasingly popular practice that involves
cryopreservation is in vitro fertilization. In this process,
and egg is fertilized with a sperm in a test tube and the
resulting embryo is then frozen. The freezing process stops the
further development of the embryo. At a later date, the embryo
can be brought out of suspended animation and implanted in a
female. Unlike artificial insemination, the woman who bears a
in vitro fertilization child does not have to be the biological
mother. This option is often used in couples who are unlikely to
become pregnant on their own. If a woman is unable to carry a
child to term, this method can be used to produce a surrogate
pregnancy. Because of in vitro fertilization, there are now
many parents who could never have previously had children. This
method is also promising for other medical reasons. Many people
freeze embryos and then decide not to use them. These embryos
can then be used for stem cell research that may one day cure
various diseases.

There's another use of artificial insemination and in vitro
fertilization that many people don't consider. Human activities
have caused significant and sometimes irreparable damage to
various animal populations all over the world. Many species are
beyond saving, but many are still within reach if we take proper
methods. Cryopreservation has been proven effective reproductive
efforts in various animal species. It can be used to breed
animals that are otherwise not able to be put together, but are
still important to the gene pool. Animals can be bred without
having to be moved. The gene pool in the wild can also be
enhanced by inseminating wild females with the sperm of captive
males. This whole process has significantly improved out chances
of saving many animal species.

While cryopreservation has been vastly helpful in the process
of artificial reproduction, there are many other uses of this
fantastic tool; many of which are still being discovered. This
is definitely a technology to keep an eye on. Plus, you never
know; maybe one day we will be able to revive people who have
been cryogenically preserved and cure them of their illnesses.


About The Author: Gray Rollins is a featured writer for
http://www.cryogenicsinfo.com/ . To learn more about
cryopreservation, visit
http://www.cryogenicsinfo.com/cryopreservation/