Cryopreservation

Abstract

Cryopreservation is sometimes said to provide viable tissue - the terms have even been used as synonyms [1]. But the fact is that a cryopreservation method that is effective for one tissue may not be effective for another and even if reasonably effective it may not necessarily produce fully functional, living tissue - some cells may have been destroyed. One sometimes encounters the oxymoron preservation injury but surely, preservation and injury are mutually exclusive. And what does the term viability mean in a scientific context? The situation is complicated but at least some of the confusion may be resolved if we can define some of these terms.