Transfusion of autologous blood cryopreserved by rapid freezing in liquid nitrogen.

In September 1993, the authors adopted the low glycerol rapid freezing technique for the cryopreservation of red blood cells. Over 2 years, they had 111 patients who used 227 bags of frozen-thawed blood. The period of time over which the blood was frozen in liquid nitrogen was from 21-40 days in 60% of the cases and more than 100 days in 7 cases. When compared to the previously utilized liquid-preservation (4 deg C) technique (up to 21 days), the new technique or cryopreservation permitted a relatively long-term preservation period. A combination of low glycerol rapid-freezing cryopreservation and liquid preservation techniques should be used to ensure an optimum supply of blood in hospitals.