Seventy-two-hour preservation of the canine liver by machine perfusion.

The UW solution effectively preserves the dog liver for up to 48 hr by simple cold storage. This solution contains lactobionate as the primary impermeant. Another solution developed for machine perfusion of the kidney is similar to the UW solution but contains gluconate in place of lactobionate. In this study the UW gluconate solution was used for the continuous hypothermic machine perfusion of dog livers for 72 hr. Dog livers were continuously perfused at 5 degrees C through the portal vein at a pressure of 16-18 mm Hg and transplanted. Seven of 8 dogs survived for 7 or more days following orthotopic transplantation. The livers functioned as well as those preserved for 48 hr by cold storage in the UW solution as indicated by various liver-function tests. Successful machine perfusion was only achieved when the perfusate contained a high concentration of potassium (125 mM) but not with a high concentration of sodium (125 mM). This study demonstrates the feasibility of machine-perfusion preservation of the liver that yields longer preservation of equal quality compared to simple cold storage. For the development of truly long-term preservation (5 or more days) and better quality short-term preservation, machine perfusion may be the method of choice.