One of the most critical problems in transplantation today is the relatively high incidence of delayed graft function after surgery. affecting 20-30% of kidney transplants in most centers. Delayed graft function impacts both the individual patient and the infrastructure for organ procurement and sharing.  Using current preservation methods, cold ischemia incurred during organ preservation has been identified as a major risk in causing delayed graft function after transplant. Serum-free synthetic preservation solutions have many obvious practical and functional advantages in comparison to blood product-based solutions. One consequence of the development of these solutions is that the organs are deprived of essential trophic factors, normal present in serum, during the period of ex vivo hypothermic storage. We have developed an improved storage solution using UW lactobionate solution and a mixture of trophic factors consisting of an antimicrobial peptide, a neuropeptide,  a neurotrophin and two polypeptide growth factors. Our continued investigations involve the further study of the mechanisms behind the improved storage conditions, further optimization of the trophic factors and  applications for other cryopreservation  methods.

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