Edaravone, a free radical scavenger, improves the graft viability on liver transplantation from non-heart-beating donors in pigs

Background Although liver transplantation from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) is an effective way to overcome shortage of donors, primary graft nonfunction is often noted in these grafts. We have previously reported that edaravone, a free radical scavenger, has a cytoprotective effect on warm ischemia-reperfusion injury and improves the function of liver grafts from NHBDs in a rat model of ischemia-reperfusion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of edaravone on liver transplantations from NHBDs. Methods Pigs were divided into three groups: (1) a heart-beating (HB) group (n = 5), in which liver grafts were retrieved from HB donors; (2) a non-heart-beating (NHB) group (n = 4), in which liver grafts were retrieved under apnea-induced NHB conditions; and (3) an edaravone-treated (ED) group (n = 5), in which liver grafts were retrieved in the same manner as the NHB group and treated with edaravone at the time of perfusion (3 mg/L in University of Wisconsin [UW] solution), cold preservation (1 mg/L in UW solution), and after surgery (1 mg/kg/d). The grafts from all groups were transplanted after 4 hours of cold preservation. Results In the ED group, the 7-day survival rate was significantly higher than that in the NHB group (80% versus 0%, P =.0042, Kaplan-Meier log-rank test). Furthermore, on histologic examination, the structure of sinusoids in the ED group was well preserved and similar to that in the HB group. Conclusions Edaravone may improve the viability of liver grafts from NHBDs.