The fate of 185 cadaveric liver homografts preserved for four to 24 hours with University of Wisconsin (UW) solution was compared with that of 180 grafts preserved for three to 9 1/2 hours with conventional Euro-Collins solution. Although the average preservation time of the UW-preserved livers was almost twice as long as that of the Euro-Collins-preserved livers, the UW-preserved grafts survived at a higher rate; permitted equal patient survival; and had a lower rate of primary nonfunction, a reduced need for retransplantation, and a lower rate of hepatic artery thrombosis. There was no correlation between the time of preservation of UW-preserved grafts up to 24 hours and liver function abnormalities in the first postoperative week. In contrast, livers preserved with Euro-Collins solution for more than five hours had significantly increased perturbations of hepatic function tests. The potential revolutionary effect of the UW solution on liver transplantation is described herein.