X-Message-Number: 17210
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 10:31:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: CO2 versus LN2

> Message #17208 From: 

> "So how is Trygve's grandpa doing in the
> shed with the dry ice?".....
> Dry ice may be an underrated short-term solution but is probably 
> insufficient for the multi-decade-long periods anticipated.
> 
Here's a quote from "Long-term storage of Bone Marrow Cells at liquid
Nitrogen and Dry Ice Temperatures" (Cryobiology 1: 65-69 1970):

Summary: Bone marrow frozen with glycerol and stored at -69 to -79 C for 3
to 9 years was compared with bone marrow frozen with DMSO and stored for 3
years in liquid nitrogen (-120 to 196 C). It was found that bone marrow
cells stored in Dry Ice were almost entirely destroyed after 3 years of
storage while bone marrow cells in liquid nitrogen were largely intact
after 3-year storage."

Previous results of Dry ice storage were also mentioned. "It has been
previously shown that bone marrow cells stored under identical conditions
for periods of up to 1 year maintain their normal morphology. However
chanmges become apparent by 2 years and were severe by 3." Reference for
this was " Cytology of human bone marrow subjected to prolonged storage at
-79 C" (J. Appl. Physiol. 19: 301-309 1964).

I will let the readers decide for themselves about the probable condition
of Trygve's grandpa. I will just mention that for less that the cost of
setting up a dry ice storage containment facility independantly, Trygve
could have stored his father's corpse in liquid nitrogen at CI.

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