Provided is a preservation solution for preserving biological material at low temperature including one or more polyphenols and a method for preservation of biological material, the method includes adding the preservation solution to biological material, cooling the biological material and storing it under appropriate storing conditions. The present method may be used for hypothermic preservation or for cryopreservation, including freezing and lyophilization, and may be used with any biological material, including cells selected from RBC, WBC, MNC, UCB MNC and bacteria. In the case of RBC, also disclosed is a method for its freezing such that upon thawing, the material has less than 2% free hemoglobin.
