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Challenges Facing Transplant Patients in COVID-19 Era

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“Transplant patients have an increased risk of developing severe illness when infected with the novel coronavirus. Reports indicate a mortality rate of up to 28% among solid organ transplant patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).1

Among the challenges that transplant recipients face is the drug-drug interactions associated with COVID-19 treatment and concomitant medications. For example, remdesivir increases the level of transaminase, which requires close monitoring of liver markers with transplant patients.1

Another challenge is the lack of a test that is sensitive enough to detect active COVID-19-infected donors prior to transplant. Therefore, it’s important to counsel solid organ donors to avoid crowds and monitor exposure for 14 days prior to transplant, whereas hematopoietic cell donors should avoid the crowd for 28 days prior to the scheduled transplant.1“

Read full article, here.

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A Woman With Down Syndrome Has Fought For Organ Transplant Anti-Discrimination Legislation For Years; Now, It’s Been Proposed, And Named After Her

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“When Charlotte Woodward was 22-years-old, her doctors told her she needed a heart transplant. 

Woodward, who has Down syndrome, was born with an atrioventricular heart defect that includes a hole in the wall between the heart’s chambers and flaws in its valves. It is common for babies with Down syndrome to be born with a heart condition; according to the National Down Syndrome Society, approximately half of all infants born with Down syndrome have a heart defect.”

Read the full story, here.

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NKF: Patients with kidney disease should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines

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“The National Kidney Foundation has released a statement urging the federal government to grant priority to patients with kidney disease and their contacts for receipt of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to the statement, it is a matter of “ethical allocation,” because this patient population is at high risk for severe outcomes if they contract the virus.”

Read the full article, here.

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Taking Immunosuppressants? Fauci Says Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

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“Three researchers presented results on COVID-19 therapies and data of importance to patients with hematological conditions.

Patients with compromised immune systems, whether due to chemotherapy or a bone marrow transplant, should plan to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) when they have the chance, Anthony Fauci, MD, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Saturday.

Fauci, who in January will serve a seventh president as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told the online audience gathered for the 62nd annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting that on balance, being vaccinated makes sense for the immunosuppressed, including the patients treated by ASH members.”

“It is clear that if you are on immunosuppressant agents, history tells us that you are not going to have as robust a response as if you had an intact immune system that was not being compromised,” Fauci said, in response to a question from ASH President Stephanie Lee, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle. “But some degree of immunity is better than no degree of immunity. So, for me, it would be recommended that these people do get vaccinated.”

Read the full article, here.

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FDA Advisory Panel Endorses Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine

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“A panel of outside experts on Thursday recommended the Food and Drug Administration issue an emergency use authorization to the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, a vaccine that appeared to be highly efficacious in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

The 17-4 vote came after a long day in which members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, discussed a wide range of issues related to the vaccine, including concerns about vaccinating people with severe allergies and 16- and 17-year-olds, as well as issues regarding vaccination during pregnancy or lactation.

Although the FDA does not have to follow the panel’s recommendation, it is widely expected to do so.”

Read the full article, here.

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It’s time for Congress to keep its promise to kidney transplant patients

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“In 1972, as millions of Americans living with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) struggled to access care, Congress made a commitment to cover the rising costs of their treatment, including kidney transplant. Unfortunately, almost 50 years later, this commitment remains unfulfilled.

Kidney transplant patients must remain on immunosuppressive therapy for life or risk losing their transplant. For nearly two decades, the kidney, transplantation, and donation communities have been advocating to extend immunosuppressive medication coverage for kidney transplant patients beyond Medicare’s current three-year limit.”

Read the full article in POLITICO, here.

To take action and help Finish The Fight, contact your members of congress, here.

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World-first Skin Cancer Treatment Aims to Help Transplant Patients

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“The world-first treatment being developed at The University of Queensland is the only drug of its type that could prevent the incidence of skin cancers for transplant patients.

Lead researcher from UQ’s Diamantina Institute Dr. James Wells said the treatment was shown in models to clear skin tumors that grow as a consequence of taking tacrolimus—a drug that transplant patients must take to suppress their immune systems to avoid organ rejection.”

Read the full article, here.

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Trump Administration Finalizes Rule That Could Make Thousands More Organs Available for Transplant

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“The Trump administration has finalized major reforms in the way organs are collected and distributed for transplant, an effort aimed at making thousands more kidneys, livers, hearts and lungs available to the lengthy list of people waiting for them.

The changes, announced Friday evening, are aimed primarily at “organ procurement organizations,” the government-chartered network of 58 nonprofits that collects organs from deceased donors and rushes them to surgeons at transplant centers.”

Read the full article in The Washington Post, here.

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Screen Kidney Transplant Patients for Fabry, Study Recommends

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“A genetic screening study found a higher-than-expected prevalence of undiagnosed Fabry disease in people who had kidney failure and transplant without a known cause.

When the screening was extended to related family members, additional unidentified cases were found and treated early. 

The findings led researchers to recommend genetic screening for kidney transplant patients, particularly those with an unknown cause.” 

Read more about the study, here.

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