Yinfeng Low Temperature Medicine: -196 ℃, Exploring the Chinese Temperature of Life Sciences
In the extraordinary decade, Chinese companies have emerged with countless warm brand stories, which we call "Chinese Temperature". Starting from August 2022, the Advertising Research Center of Shandong University, the Shandong Provincial Brand Building Promotion Association, and the Qilu Evening News One Point Think Tank jointly plan the "China Temperature" public welfare communication action, aiming to showcase the "China Temperature" of Shandong enterprises from multiple perspectives, accumulate brand strength, forge ahead on a new journey, and contribute to the new era.
Haier Group, Shandong Expressway Group, Jingbo Holdings Group, Inspur Group, Sun Paper Industry, Weigao Group, Jigang Group, Qilu Pharmaceutical Group, Linglong Tire, Shandong Main Line Company of South to North Water Diversion, Huatong Group, Yinfeng Biotech Group, Furuida Pharmaceutical Group, Huaxi Biotech, TEDA New Energy, Bond Laser, Chaoyue Technology, Qingdao Xinqian Bay Container Terminal 20 well-known corporate brands including Zhongqing Guohe were invited to participate in the "China Temperature" public welfare promotion campaign.
The news of "China's first low-temperature preservation of human body completed in Shandong" in 2017 caused a sensation throughout the country, and "frozen human" became a hot topic in society. The volunteer participating in this low-temperature preservation of human body was a 49 year old woman named Zhan Wenlian.
In 2015, Ms. Zhan, who was only 47 years old, unfortunately suffered from advanced left upper lobe lung cancer with multiple lymph node and right adrenal metastasis. During her hospitalization in the end-of-life care ward, Ms. Zhan revealed to her family her desire to donate her body for medical research. Husband Gui Junmin learned through the director of the end-of-life care ward that Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute is conducting a research project on human low-temperature preservation and recovery, which can provide "human cryopreservation" surgery for Ms. Zhan. After careful consideration by the whole family, Ms. Zhan has decided to become the first volunteer for this project.
On the evening of May 7, 2017, Ms. Zhan's vital signs were extremely unstable. After the critical illness notice was issued, the clinical transport team on standby at Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute rushed to the ward where Ms. Zhan was located at Qilu Hospital. Perform a series of clinical response treatments on Ms. Zhan's body as soon as possible to ensure optimal low-temperature preservation.
At 4:01 am on May 8, 2017, after the attending physician announced the patient's clinical death according to legal procedures, the Yinfeng Clinical Response Expert Team began injecting Ms. Zhan with anticoagulant, antioxidant, and central nervous system nutrition drugs, and physical cooling was achieved through surface icing and rapid injection of saline solution into the peripheral circulation. By intubating the trachea, activating cardiopulmonary support devices such as ventilators and Lucas2 to maintain blood and oxygen supply to body tissues, reducing cell damage and apoptosis.
At 4:24 am, after 13 minutes of low-temperature transportation, Ms. Zhan was delivered to the Cryogenic Medical Research Center of Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute. Start performing blood exchange and concentration gradient cryoprotectant infusion through extracorporeal blood circulation for her.
After completing a 6-hour blood exchange and cryoprotectant infusion, Ms. Zhan's body was transferred to a large-span automatic program cooling device independently developed by Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute to begin deep cooling, rapidly lowering all parts of her body to -190 degrees Celsius simultaneously.
After a 55 hour program to cool down, Ms. Zhan's body was successfully transferred to a specially designed liquid nitrogen container filled with liquid nitrogen that can be stably maintained at -196 degrees Celsius. The ultra-low temperature seems to have pressed the pause button on time, at which all biochemical reactions and metabolism will stop, and cells will also stop aging and dying.
At this point, China's first full body low-temperature preservation of the human body has been successfully completed. This marks China as the third country to master human low-temperature preservation technology after the United States and Russia, and also makes Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute a focus of national attention.
Yinfeng Biotechnology Group is the investment, management, and operation entity of Yinfeng Group in the field of biology. Since its layout in the biopharmaceutical industry in 2003, Yinfeng Biotechnology has gradually developed into a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and development, medical transformation, and clinical research of biomedical technologies such as human cell, tissue, and organ storage, gene sequencing technology, cell application technology, deep low-temperature medical technology, and health management services. Shandong Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute is a research institution invested by Yinfeng Biotechnology Group and approved by the Shandong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. It is mainly committed to genetic technology, stem cell technology and clinical applications, cell tissue and organ preservation, and even low-temperature preservation research of the entire human body; The most eye-catching research projects among them are human low-temperature preservation and tissue and organ low-temperature preservation and recovery. Yinfeng Life Sciences Research Institute is also the fourth in the world and the only research institution in Asia that can independently implement human low-temperature preservation.
Under the leadership of Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute, -196 degrees Celsius is no longer a simple physical temperature, but has more different meanings, becoming a "Chinese temperature" related to dreams, beliefs, life, and the future of humanity.
-196 ℃ is the temperature of China with firm beliefs
At the Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute, there stand tanks resembling spacecraft, with 14 volunteers undergoing long-term preservation in a deep low-temperature environment of -196 degrees Celsius. Like Ms. Zhan Wenlian, they uphold their trust in the Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute, their dedication to science, and their expectations for the future, becoming volunteers for the Yinfeng Life Extension Program.
After Ms. Zhan Wenlian's low-temperature preservation was completed, Zhou Ming (pseudonym) learned about the first case of human low-temperature preservation in China in a news report. Zhou Ming's mother, Liu Aihui, suffered from lung cancer. During the treatment period, she mentioned to her family the idea of donating her body for medical research. Zhou Ming introduced her mother to the human low-temperature preservation experiment, and after a detailed understanding of the entire implementation process, Liu Aihui agreed to participate in this highly prospective study.
In November 2017, Liu Aihui's daughter contacted the Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute to inquire in detail about the human low-temperature preservation research plan, participation conditions, and legal procedures. Together with her family, she communicated with the Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute about the implementation details and steps, and signed the relevant documents for participating in the Yinfeng Life Extension Plan.
On June 17, 2018 at midnight, the clinical response team of Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute arrived at Tai'an Central Hospital, at which time Liu Aihui's vital indicators were rapidly declining. Seven minutes later, the supervising doctor announced the clinical death of Liu Aihui. Led by Yin Feng's low-temperature preservation expert Alan Drake and clinical expert Hou Yuedong, Yin Feng's clinical response team quickly launched a response, providing artificial cardiopulmonary support to maintain the patient's blood circulation, taking internal and external cooling measures, and injecting multiple maintenance drugs into Liu Aihui's body. Implement rapid minimally invasive surgery and establish ECMO extracorporeal circulation through the femoral artery and vein. Thanks to the application of ECMO technology, various tissues and cells in its body can still maintain a "living" state, leaving more possibilities for the future. About three hours after the surgery was completed, Liu Aihui was carefully transferred to an ambulance and rushed to Jinan under the protection of the life support system. This became the first successful case in China to complete the transportation and low-temperature preservation of volunteers from other places.
"When a person leaves, a handful of dust will be like that. If there are benefits to science and medicine, it will be more meaningful. No matter what, there must be someone who goes forward. You don't leave, I don't leave, science won't develop. Losing her, I am very sad, and at the same time, I admire her, respect her, and miss her even more." Ms. Liu Aihui's lover, Mr. Zhou Changyou, and her daughter both strongly support her decision. "We acknowledge the significant progress made in low-temperature medical research and the research on low-temperature preservation and recovery of human tissues and organs. Science has both maturity and uncertainty, and only when someone is involved can development be achieved. Mothers love our family, it is a small love. If it is helpful to science, it is a great love. The trust and dedication of volunteers and their families are the greatest spiritual driving force that Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute constantly seeks.", They inspire the research team of Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute to try more new possibilities.
In February 2019, Yinfeng Life Sciences Research Institute once again completed the transportation of China's first long-distance volunteer and successfully completed low-temperature preservation. Currently, 14 volunteers have chosen to undergo human low-temperature preservation at Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute.
In addition to volunteers, the Yinfeng Life Extension Program also has numerous members who support the research cause of the Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute through donations of research funds, research materials, volunteer services, technology and talent cooperation, and other means. Supported by a common belief, they resolutely chose to become pioneers in the exploration of human life sciences, bringing unlimited possibilities for the future development of low-temperature medicine with their limited strength, and jointly interpreting the temperature of faith with Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute.
-196 ℃ is the ideal temperature for convergence in China
Chasing dreams, walking together with others. China has never stopped pursuing its dreams, nor has it lacked pioneers to overcome obstacles. With the same ideals, unite like-minded dream chasers, and gradually strengthen the team of fellow researchers in Yinfeng Life Science Research.
In 2013, Yinfeng established the research direction of human low-temperature preservation and legal and ethical argumentation, and invited the CEO of Russian low-temperature preservation institutions to China for exchange and inspection. In 2014, Yinfeng organized an inspection and exchange team to Russia for inspection and exchange, and signed a technology and equipment cooperation and development agreement. In the same year, the "Deep Cryogenic Preservation Technology and Professional Equipment Research and Development of Human Tissue and Organs" project was approved by the Shandong Provincial Department of Science and Technology.
After rapid and meticulous investigation, argumentation, and preparation, Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute was officially established in 2015, marking the beginning of the Chinese team's independent research on low-temperature preservation of the human body. This year, Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute went to the United States for technical exchanges and signed a memorandum of cooperation with American cryopreservation institutions ALCOR and CI.
A common ideal brings together an authoritative expert team in the industry, led by Shen Baijun, Chief Scientist of Yinfeng Biological Group and Founder of Shandong Province Cord Blood Bank; Qu Tingyu, an overseas distinguished expert of Mount Taishan Scholars in Shandong Province and an expert in the field of neural stem cells; Alan Drake, former American expert in human cryopreservation at ALCOR; Sun Wenyu, Director of the Department of Cardiology at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; The Yinfeng Life Science Research Expert Team, composed of core members such as Hou Yuedong, Deputy Chief Physician of the Anesthesiology Department at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, covers authoritative experts in the field of human low-temperature preservation, including clinical medicine, health science, life science, medical engineering, materials science, medical ethics, and other fields.
With the scientific research achievements of Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute gradually becoming public, more and more researchers have realized that human low-temperature preservation experiments are not a research field of low-temperature medicine, but a forward-looking research project that requires multiple disciplines to work together.
In December 2022, the Yinfeng Low Temperature Medical Research Center, in collaboration with multiple global low-temperature medical research teams, jointly launched the world's first international low-temperature biomedical research system. At the same time, the second Yinfeng Low Temperature Medical Expert Committee was established as the achievement sharing platform and information exchange platform for this research system. The current expert committee is composed of multiple experts and scholars in the fields of low-temperature biomedical research, low-temperature preservation of human tissues and organs, both domestically and internationally. It not only has strong basic research and clinical application research capabilities, but also focuses on enhancing the expert strength in ethics, law, policy, and other aspects, enabling global low-temperature biomedical researchers to jointly promote the development of low-temperature medicine in a systematic and collaborative manner, Contribute China's strength to the development of international low-temperature medicine.
-196 ℃ is the temperature in China that we hope to discover
The development of low-temperature preservation technology is a long and arduous task, but on the road to pursuing dreams, flowers have bloomed and fruitful results have been achieved. Thanks to the efforts of many researchers in the expert team of Yinfeng Institute of Life Sciences, by 2022, the total number of patents granted by the low-temperature medical team of Yinfeng Institute of Life Sciences in the China National Intellectual Property Administration has reached 25; Significant progress has been made in the clinical application of low-temperature preservation and resuscitation of human cells and tissues; Bringing new hope to the ultimate benefit of human low-temperature preservation technology.
In 1949, British biologists Polge, C., Smith, U., and Parkes, A. S., published an article in the journal Nature titled "Regeneration of Vitrified Dehydrated Sperm at Low Temperature", which opened the curtain on cryobiology. Cryopreservation refers to the process of cooling living biological cells, tissues, organs, and even the entire organism to a very low temperature through special methods and preserving them for a short or long time, A new technology for thawing organisms and obtaining normal vital signs when needed.
Since its inception, low-temperature preservation technology has undergone continuous exploration and development by global scientific research forces, and has achieved low-temperature preservation of various biological tissues, including sperm, eggs, blood cells, stem cells, umbilical cord blood, ovarian tissue, testicular tissue, embryos and other human cells and tissues, as well as plant seeds, shoot tips, moss, fungi and other organisms.
However, low-temperature preservation technology still has a long way to go, as tissues and organs contain various types of cells, and there are significant differences in the structure and composition between different cells, such as different cell volumes, tissue permeability, and thermal conductivity. At the same time, the volume of tissues and organs is large, the structure is complex, and it is difficult to synchronize cooling, making deep low-temperature preservation relatively difficult. Complete human organs, such as the kidneys, liver, pancreas, etc., can only be preserved at low temperatures (around 4 ℃) for a short period of time. The complete task of low-temperature preservation and recovery of the human body is still impossible.
Any technology requires a difficult process from birth to development. Since its establishment, Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute has formed a professional team including low-temperature biomedical, genetic engineering, stem cell technology, clinical medicine, bioengineering materials, and regenerative medicine. Through continuous exploration and experimentation, it has successfully mastered skin, valve, and other fields Deep low-temperature preservation and resuscitation techniques for human tissues and organs such as ovaries and severed fingers have been successfully applied in clinical transplantation.
On December 21, 2019, Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute collaborated with Qilu Hospital to assist a pregnant woman who accidentally lost her finger in implementing low-temperature preservation. The patient was 34 years old at the time and had an accident while working at home, resulting in the fingertips of both right fingers being severed. After disinfection, Pei Yantao, the attending physician of Qilu Hospital, perfused the severed finger with cryoprotective solution and temporarily stored it at a low temperature (4 ℃). Considering that the patient is a pregnant woman and there is a high risk of replantation surgery, anesthesia, and possible complications, the patient accepted the recommendation of the department director Zhu Lei and the attending physician to send the severed finger to Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute for deep low-temperature storage, Preserve hope for future replantation of severed fingers.
Since 2016, Yinfeng Life Sciences Research Institute has jointly established a research group on low-temperature preservation and clinical replantation of human skin and severed fingers (toes) with the Department of Hand and Foot Surgery of Qilu Hospital, Shandong University. The group conducts research on the deep low-temperature protection system of ex vivo tissues and organs, ex vivo tissue perfusion and low-temperature preservation, and provides high-quality preservation services for skin, severed fingers (toes) and even severed limbs caused by various clinical reasons. As of December 2022, Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute has successfully preserved over 150 cases of human tissues and organs, including but not limited to skin, severed fingers/toes, ovaries, bones, tendons, and other tissues and organs. Among them, 79 cases were skin preserved, and 25 cases were successfully replanted, with an overall survival rate of over 60%; 47 cases of severed fingers/toes were preserved, and 3 cases were successfully replanted. After transplantation, the severed fingers/toes of the patients were restored to blood supply.
Perhaps one day, the low-temperature preservation and recovery of the human body will be as complete as the cryopreservation and recovery of stem cells in umbilical cord blood banks and germ cells in sperm banks. However, all of this requires pioneers like Yinfeng Life Science Research Institute, who firmly believe in their initial beliefs, to