AUA: Kidney Transplants From COVID-19-Infected Donors Are Safe

MONDAY, May 16, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Transplantation of kidneys from COVID-19-positive donors is safe, with outcomes comparable to kidneys from noninfected donors, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association, held from May 13 to 16 in New Orleans.

Yi-Chia Lin, M.D., from the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues shared early outcomes from 55 recipients of transplant kidneys from 34 COVID-19-positive deceased donors from February to October 2021.

The researchers reported that the mean donor age was 34 years with a mean kidney donor profile index of 36.9 percent. The patient cohort included 36 male recipients and 19 female recipients (mean age among all recipients, 51.2 years). Two-thirds of recipients were dialysis-dependent, and a similar proportion (67.3 percent) had received both COVID-19 vaccine doses. Roughly one in five recipients experienced delayed graft function (19.6 percent). After surgery, no recipients tested positive for COVID-19. All kidney allografts were functioning at a mean follow-up of 3.5 months, with a mean serum creatinine of 1.6 mg/dL. At 1.5 months posttransplant, one patient underwent allograft nephrectomy due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa vascular infection.

“Transplantation of kidneys from COVID-19 positive donors is safe,” the authors write. “Outcomes are comparable to kidneys from regular donors.”

Abstract MP36-01

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