Pilot Study Demonstrates Safety of Transplanting Kidneys from HCV+ Donors into HCV− Recipients

Well tolerated, highly effective treatments for hepatitis C virus may prevent or cure the infection in initially uninfected recipients of kidneys from infected donors.

Many patients requiring renal transplantation die waiting for an organ offer. The opioid epidemic has resulted in an increased number of hepatitis C virus (HCV)–infected potential donors who have died from drug overdose; these organs are often discarded. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are highly effective in curing HCV. The current study tested the strategy of transplanting kidneys from HCV-positive donors into HCV-negative recipients treated with DAAs to prevent or cure donor-derived HCV. The study was manufacturer-funded.

Ten HCV-negative patients received kidneys from 10 HCV-infected donors. Drug overdose was the cause of brain death in 6 of 10 donors. Recipients took grazoprevir and elbasvir (GZR-EBR) just prior to and for 12 weeks afte…

Reviewing Author

Daniel Kaul, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNobelpharma; Pfizer

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Transplantation (Program Committee)

Daniel Kaul, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNobelpharma; Pfizer

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Transplantation (Program Committee)

Pilot Study Demonstrates Safety of Transplanting Kidneys from HCV+ Donors into HCV− Recipients

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Reviewing Author