Early Experience with HIV+ Kidney and Liver Organ Donation

Donor HIV infection has long been a legal restriction on organ procurement. Early experience in South Africa (NEJM JW Infect Dis Mar 2015 and N Engl J Med 2015; 372:613) and urging by the transplant community prompted passage of the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act into federal law. In 2015, HIV+ recipients became able to receive organ transplants from HIV+ donors under research protocols. Now, the United Network for Organ Sharing reports the first 3 years of experience under the HOPE Act.

Thirty-five kidney and 19 liver programs developed approved protocols (25% have not listed any candidates), and by the end of 2018, 102 HIV+ recipients received 71 kidneys and 31 livers from 50 deceased donors with positive HIV screens (estimated false p…