eli5: how come when your organs are in your body, they need to be 98 degrees, but in an organ transplant the organ is cooled?

Question

eli5: how come when your organs are in your body, they need to be 98 degrees, but in an organ transplant the organ is cooled?

In: 274

Answer 1

Your body has an immune system to fight infection, the cells get food and oxygen, and the organs need to be warm to do their job.

Outside of the body, the organs don’t need to their job, the cells aren’t getting food nor oxygen to stay alive, and there’s no immune system to fight off microorganisms. Cooling the organ slows the rate that the cells starving of oxygen and food die, and inhibits growth of microorganisms.