Charleston research center awarded NIH grant

Organ Recovery Systems’ Charleston-based research center has received a two-year, $880,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the “vitrification ice-free cryopreservation method for articular cartilage transplants,” a process that would allow storage and transport of cartilage.

Research will test whether vitrification can enable the storage and delivery of viable, functioning articular cartilage grafts. This has not been possible with conventional cryopreservation methods because ice formation in conventional methods can damage cells.

“While transplants of fresh cartilage have been proven to be effective, currently there is no way to store and deliver cartilage to needy recipients,” says Kelvin Brockbank, Organ Recovery Systems’ chief science officer and senior vice president. “This grant from the NIH will aid our company in the development of methods for cartilage cryopreservation and, ultimately, help more than 100,000 patients with damaged joints improve their quality of life.”