Cryopreservation of Hair Follicles at -20°C: Can It Work in Staged Hair Transplantation

The study explored the effectiveness of storing hair follicles at -20°C for future hair transplants and compared this method to storage at 4°C. It was found that hair grafts stored at 4°C began to deteriorate after five days, whereas those stored at -20°C remained unchanged for up to 15 days. This suggests that storing hair grafts at -20°C could potentially eliminate the need for a second round of graft harvesting and expedite the process of reconstructing larger areas of hair loss. The research involved hair micrografts from two male patients, aged 32 and 38, who were non-smokers and had not undergone any previous hair loss treatments. These grafts were histopathologically examined daily over a 25-day period, leading to the conclusion that -20°C cryopreservation is a promising method for preserving hair follicles for transplantation.