Prolonged survival of allogeneic mouse skin grafts following preservation

Skin of C57BL mice was preserved in skin-graft fluid at 4 C for six weeks. The mean survival time of such skin grafted to BALB/c mice was 17.1 +/- 0.29 (SD) days. Control grafts transplanted immediately after removal from animals had a mean survival time of 11.5 +/- 0.32 days, whereas in a second control group, transplanted with C57BL skin preserved up to two weeks in serum-free medium, rejection occurred after 10.9 +/- 0.16 days. Some hypotheses on the mechanism of such graft prolongation are discussed.