if certain organs can regrow [like livers] why can’t we just keep some on ice until they’re needed?
In: Biology
Because organs are made up of cells, millions of cells, and these cells need to be alive in order for the organ to function and/or “regrow.” And cells die very fast without a supply of blood flow to bring oxygen and nutrients so the cells can function. Matter of hours.
Ice, and in general, freezing temperatures, will freeze the water that is inside most cells. Water *expands* when it freezes, which is why ice floats, and also why any glass container with water inside that’s left to freeze will be broken up by the ice. The ice “grows” in volume compared to the water that was previously in the container, shattering it.
Needless to say, freezing cells inflates them so much that they burst and die. “Ice” kills cells, rips their membrane/skin apart.
The current best methods that we have for preserving organs and keeping them alive, are basically reducing the temperature a little (chilled, not freezing), but mostly they’re trying to put the organ in a medical liquid that approximates blood as much as possible, with hopefully enough oxygen and nutrients in there to keep the organ alive.
It’s a [colorless liquid](https://intermountainhealthcare.org/-/media/images/modules/news/liverpump.jpg?mw=1600) (looks like medical plasma liquid actually), and again it can only manage a few hours of keeping the organ’s cells alive, then they start dying rapidly and the organ starts to fail.
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