Transplanting Kidneys From Hepatitis C–Infected Donors Into Uninfected Recipients: Ready for the Mainstream
Authors: Adnan Sharif
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Editorials4 September 2018Transplanting Kidneys From Hepatitis C–Infected Donors Into Uninfected Recipients: Ready for the MainstreamAdnan Sharif, MBChB, MDAdnan Sharif, MBChB, MDQueen Elizabeth Hospital and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom (A.S.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-1781 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Because of its significant survival advantage over dialysis therapy, kidney transplantation is the preferred method of renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage kidney failure (1). Novel developments that can overcome the disparity between supply and demand for kidneys—which leads to prolonged waiting times and subsequent risk for death while on the waitlist—should therefore be encouraged. One innovative proposal is to utilize more kidneys from donors with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, of which 3562 have been discarded in the United States since 1995 (discard rate of 53.6% vs. 22.4% for HCV-negative kidneys) (2). Kidneys from HCV-positive donors have been ...References1. Wolfe RA, Ashby VB, Milford EL, Ojo AO, Ettenger RE, Agodoa LY, et al. Comparison of mortality in all patients on dialysis, patients on dialysis awaiting transplantation, and recipients of a first cadaveric transplant. N Engl J Med. 1999;341:1725-30. [PMID: 10580071] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Kucirka LM, Singer AL, Ros RL, Montgomery RA, Dagher NN, Segev DL. Underutilization of hepatitis C-positive kidneys for hepatitis C-positive recipients. Am J Transplant. 2010;10:1238-46. [PMID: 20353475] doi:10.1111/j.1600-6143.2010.03091.x CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Zibbell JE, Asher AK, Patel RC, Kupronis B, Iqbal K, Ward JW, et al. 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The American Society of Transplantation consensus conference on the use of hepatitis C viremic donors in solid organ transplantation. Am J Transplant. 2017;17:2790-802. [PMID: 28556422] doi:10.1111/ajt.14381 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Reese PP, Abt PL, Blumberg EA, Van Deerlin VM, Bloom RD, Potluri VS, et al. Twelve-month outcomes after transplant of hepatitis C–infected kidneys into uninfected recipients. A single-group trial. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169:273-81. doi:10.7326/M18-0749 LinkGoogle Scholar8. Shelton BA, Sawinski D, Mehta S, Reed RD, MacLennan PA, Locke JE. Kidney transplantation and waitlist mortality rates among candidates registered as willing to accept a hepatitis C infected kidney. Transpl Infect Dis. 2018;20:e12829. [PMID: 29277956] doi:10.1111/tid.12829 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Jakobsen JC, Nielsen EE, Koretz RL, Gluud C. Do direct acting antivirals cure chronic hepatitis C? BMJ. 2018;361:k1382. [PMID: 29748173] doi:10.1136/bmj.k1382 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Kadatz M, Klarenbach S, Gill J, Gill JS. Cost-effectiveness of using kidneys from hepatitis C nucleic acid test-positive donors for transplantation in hepatitis C-negative recipients. Am J Transplant. 2018. [PMID: 29797402] doi:10.1111/ajt.14929 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Queen Elizabeth Hospital and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom (A.S.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-1781.Corresponding Author: Adnan Sharif, MBChB, MD, Department of Nephrology and Transplantation, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TH, United Kingdom; e-mail, adnan.[email protected]nhs.uk; Twitter, @AdnanSharif1979.This article was published at Annals.org on 7 August 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoTwelve-Month Outcomes After Transplant of Hepatitis C–Infected Kidneys Into Uninfected Recipients Peter P. Reese , Peter L. Abt , Emily A. Blumberg , Vivianna M. Van Deerlin , Roy D. Bloom , Vishnu S. Potluri , Matthew Levine , Paige Porrett , Deirdre Sawinski , Susanna M. Nazarian , Ali Naji , Richard Hasz , Lawrence Suplee , Jennifer Trofe-Clark , Anna Sicilia , Maureen McCauley , Caren Gentile , Jennifer Smith , Bijan A. Niknam , Melissa Bleicher , K. Rajender Reddy , and David S. Goldberg Metrics Cited byHepatitis C virus and kidney transplantation: Recent trends and paradigm shiftsDonor‐derived infections: Guidelines from the American Society of Transplantation Infectious Diseases Community of Practice 4 September 2018Volume 169, Issue 5Page: 341-342KeywordsHepatitis CInfectious hepatitisKidneysMedical dialysisMedical risk factorsQuality adjusted life yearsRenal transplantationSystematic reviewsSystemic vascular resistanceTransplantation ePublished: 7 August 2018 Issue Published: 4 September 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...