The Collection and Storage of Viable Human Fetal Hematopoietic Tissue for Intravenous Use

Livers and spleens from human fetuses in the 12 to 20 weeks’ gestation period were preserved in a sterile condition in glycerol and serum at -70 C. for periods of several weeks. Studies of DNA synthesis rates with C¹⁴-formate, and radioautographs after incubation with tritiated thymidine, revealed that hematopoietic elements concentrated in these tissues at this stage of gestation maintained their viability during these periods of storage. Intravenous infusion of cellular suspensions prepared from stored frozen tissue, or from fresh tissue in this same age group, produced no observed untoward clinical event in the three patients studied.

Some of the arguments favoring the use of fetal hematopoietic tissue, in contrast to adult marrow, in the attempt to restore marrow function after radiation injury are briefly reviewed.