The Effects of Glucose/Ischemic Preconditioning on Reperfusion Injury in Deceased-Donor Liver Transplantation

Standard liver retrieval procedures for transplantation from a deceased donor inevitably result in a "reperfusion injury" to the liver tissue. The purpose of this research study is to find out whether treatment of the liver with a "preconditioning" protocol before its removal from the donor will help reduce any of this injury. The "preconditioning" treatment being tested has two components. Firstly, a solution of glucose+insulin is infused and secondly, blood flow to the liver is stopped briefly (10 minutes) and then resumed. Both strategies, individually, have been shown to reduce liver tissue injury in human studies. We hypothesize that combining both strategies will have a clinical benefit to patients and will improve liver function following transplant.