Liver preservation below 0 degrees C with UW solution and 2,3-butanediol.

Long-term preservation of the liver is needed to transform liver transplantation from an emergency operation to an elective procedure and therefore to improve the results of liver transplantation. We explored the possibility of extending the cold ischemia time of the rat liver by using a preservation temperature below 0 degrees C together with the addition of a cryoprotective agent (2,3-butanediol) at a low concentration in the preservation solution. Rat livers were preserved for 72 h either with UW solution at +4 degrees C (group 1) or with a UW solution, to which 2,3-butanediol at 8% (at +4 degrees C (group 2) or at -4 degrees C (group 3, experimental group)) was added.