Does Kidney Transplantation from Donors with HIV Cause More Infections?

Clinical Takeaway

: Time to first infection was shorter in recipients with HIV when the donor also had HIV, but infections requiring hospitalization were not more common.

Context

The 2013 HOPE Act allowed recipients with HIV (R+) to receive organs from donors with HIV (D+), and overall outcomes are similar regardless of donor HIV status. To determine whether HIV D+ kidney recipients face a greater risk of infection than HIV D− recipients, researchers reassessed data from an observational study comparing 99 HIV D+/R+ to 99 HIV D−/R+.

Key Results

The primary outcome, incidence of clinically relevant infection over 24 months, was high in both groups but not significantly different between them.
Time to first infection was significantly shorter for HIV D+/R+ than for HIV D−/R+ (as indicated by 30-day rates of 14% and 6%) but time to first infection resulting in hospitalization was not.
Donor HIV status did not affect…

Reviewing Author

Daniel Kaul, M.D.

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNobelpharma; Pfizer

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