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Donated kidneys from deceased COVID-19 patients are safe to transplant

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Study finds that such organs don’t transmit virus that causes COVID-19

By Jim Dryden

Kidneys from organ donors who were diagnosed with COVID-19 are safe to transplant and don’t transmit the virus to people who receive those organs, according to a new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Of the many thousands of kidneys transplanted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been no reported infections after transplant surgery related to kidneys donated by people who died and had tested positive for the virus. Most donors died of causes other than COVID-19, but even in those who had tested positive for the virus within a week of their deaths, there was no effect on the success of the transplants. Read more from the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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People take to social media to find living donors for kidney transplants

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By Erin Wise

Thousands of people in Alabama have kidney failure and many are in need of kidney transplants, but the number of patients greatly outnumber available kidneys. Many have taken to social media to find a living donor.

Annitra McGowan was diagnosed with stage three kidney disease four years ago. Her health declined further after getting COVID-19 in 2021. Read more from ABC 33/40 News.

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U-M HEALTH PERFORMS ITS FIRST HEART TRANSPLANT AFTER CARDIAC DEATH

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As the number of heart transplants performed across the U.S. continues to grow, surgeons at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center are taking advantage of technology that could increase its transplant yield by as much as 30%.

In March, transplant surgeons completed the health system’s first heart transplant using an organ from a donor who had recently died — a process called donation after circulatory death, or DCD. The patient, a man in his 30s, received the heart after years of deteriorating due to congenital heart failure.
Read the full story from Michigan Medicine.

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Reanimated hearts work as well for transplants and could make more organs available for patients in need, study finds

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By Brenda Goodman, CNN

Researchers say they have been able to tap a new pool of organ donors to preserve and transplant their hearts: people whose hearts have stopped beating, resulting in so-called circulatory death.

Traditionally, the only people considered to be suitable organ donors were those who have been declared brain-dead but whose hearts and other organs have continued to function.
Read the full story in CNN.

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Race-Free eGFR Validated for Kidney Transplant Patients

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By Mitchel L. Zoler, PhD

French researchers have developed and validated a creatinine-based, race-free equation for calculating estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in people who have received a kidney transplant. It performed as well, or better, than three established eGFR equations, including the 2021 race-free equation now widely used in US practice.

“The new equation provides a more accurate estimation of kidney function” in kidney transplant recipients compared with prior equations, said Marc Raynaud, PhD, lead author of the report, which was recently published in BMJ. Read more in Medscape.

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Outgoing transplant society president says organ supply, outcomes remain challenges

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By Mark E. Neumann

Despite advances in the last 7 decades, some challenges remain for transplantation, including a limited organ supply and improving long-term outcomes, the outgoing president of the American Society of Transplantation said in a presentation.

“Two decades ago, I attended my first [American Transplant Congress] ATC meeting and fell in love with transplantation,” Deepali Kumar, MD, MSc, FRCP(C), a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and director of transplant infectious diseases at the University Health Network, told attendees at the ATC in San Diego. Read more in Healio.

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Newer heart transplant method could allow more patients a chance at lifesaving surgery

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Most transplanted hearts are from donors who are brain dead, but new research shows a different approach can be just as successful and boost the number of available organs

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON — Most transplanted hearts are from donors who are brain dead, but new research shows a different approach can be just as successful and boost the number of available organs.

It’s called donation after circulatory death, a method long used to recover kidneys and other organs but not more fragile hearts. Duke Health researchers said Wednesday that using those long-shunned hearts could allow possibly thousands more patients a chance at a lifesaving transplant — expanding the number of donor hearts by 30%. Check out the full story in ABC News.

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FDA approves first IV iron replacement therapy for heart failure

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Fact checked by Erik Swain

The FDA approved the first IV ferric carboxymaltose injection for iron deficiency in adults with heart failure to improve exercise capacity, according to a press release from American Regent.

The IV iron injection (Injectafer, Daiichi Sankyo/American Regent) is approved for people with New York Heart Association class II/III HF, defined as patients with a slight or marked limitation of their physical activity due to fatigue, palpitation and/or dyspnea. Read the full article in Healio.

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Transplant Centers Often Skip the Top Spot on the Kidney Waitlist

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By F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Welcome to Impact Factor, your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I’m Dr F. Perry Wilson of the Yale School of Medicine.

The idea of rationing medical care is anathema to most doctors. Sure, we acknowledge that the realities of healthcare costs and insurance companies might limit our options, but there is always a sense that when something is truly, truly needed, we can get it done. Read more in Medscape.

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Outcomes of Lung Transplant Candidates Aged ≥70 Years During the Lung Allocation Score Era.

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Contributor: Alice L Zhou,Alexander K Karius,Jessica M Ruck,Benjamin L Shou,Emily L Larson,Alfred J Casillan,Jinny S Ha,Pali D Shah,Christian A Merlo,Errol L Bush

With the increasing age of lung transplant candidates, we studied waitlist and post-transplant outcomes of candidates ≥70 years during the Lung Allocation Score era.

Adult lung transplant candidates from 2005-2020 in the United Network for Organ Sharing database were included and stratified based on age at listing into: 18-59 years old, 60-69 years old, and ≥70 years old. Baseline characteristics, waitlist outcomes, and post-transplant outcomes were assessed.
Read more in Physician’s Weekly.

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