[Outcomes using two preservation solutions (UW/HTK) in liver transplantation from brain death donors]

Preservation solutions are critical for organ transplantation. In liver transplant (LT), the solution developed by the University Of Wisconsin (UW) is the gold-standard to perfuse deceased brain death donor (DBD) grafts. Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate (HTK), formerly a cardioplegic infusion, has been also used in solid organ transplantation.

To compare the outcomes of LT in our center using either HTK or UW solution.

Retrospective study including 93 LT DBD liver grafts in 89 patients transplanted between March 1994 and July 2010. Forty-eight grafts were preserved with UW and 45 with HTK. Donor and recipient demographics, total infused volume, cold ischemia time, post-reperfusion biopsy, liver function tests, incidence of biliary complications, acute rejection and 12-month graft and patient survival were assessed. Preservation solution costs per liver graft were also recorded.

Donor and recipient demographics were similar. When comparing UW and HTK, no differences were observed in cold ischemia time (9.6 ± 3 and 8.7 ± 2 h respectively, p = 0.23), biliary complications, the incidence of acute rejection, primary or delayed graft dysfunction. Histology on post-reperfusion biopsies revealed no differences between groups. The infused volume was significantly higher with HTK than with UW (9 (5-16) and 6 (3-11) l, p < 0.001). The cost per procurement was remarkably lower using HTK.

Perfusion of DBD liver grafts with HTK is clinically equivalent to UW, with a significant cost reduction.