Kidney Donors with Cleared Hepatitis C Infection Did Not Transmit Infection

Due to either natural clearance or successful treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, an increasing number of deceased potential organ donors test HCV antibody positive and nucleic acid negative (HCV Ab+/NAT−). Kidneys from these donors are less likely to be used than kidneys from HCV Ab− donors (Am J Transplant 2017; 17: 2863). Although the risk for HCV transmission from these donors is thought to be low, limited data on transmission risk are available.

Now, researchers at a single transplant center describe their experience transplanting kidneys from 25 HCV Ab+/NAT− donors (2 with a history of treated HCV, 23 naturally cleared) into 32 HCV NAT− recipients. Nineteen donors had a history of intravenous drug use and 12 died of drug ov…