[Pretreatment of donors with sodium selenite-a method for the conditioning of tissues for cryoconservation].

Investigations about the protective effect of the pretreatment of albino rats with different concentrations of sodium selenite in sodium chloride solution were carried out. Albino rats, serving as a control group, had only a pretreatment with sodium chloride solution. The following results were obtained: 1. An intraperitoneal application of 2 microgram sodium selenite per kg body weight over three days shows a significant increase of contractility of frozen and afterwards re-thawed fragments of heart-muscle after storage -196 degrees C. 2. The increase or decrease of the sodium selenite dose by the factor ten had no effect on the preservation of the contractility of fragments of the heart-muscle after storage -196 degrees C in comparison to the control group. 3. A differentiated observation of the injuries under frozen preservation permitted the conclusion that the pretreatment with sodium selenite for the most parts will be protective in the phase below 0 degrees.