MDAC 2.5 SDK - OLE DB Programmer's Reference
Chapter 7: BLOBs and COM Objects
An IPersist* object is a COM object that supports an IPersist interface. An IPersist* object instance created by the provider remains valid until it is released. However, if the row associated with the IPersist* object is released, the storage object associated with the IPersist* object enters a zombie state and the IPersist* object will no longer be able to use it.