Prophylactic Antivirals Prevent Donor-to-Recipient Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus After Kidney Transplantation

To address the organ shortage, transplantation of organs from donors with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has become increasingly common. The appropriate timing and duration of direct acting antivirals (DAA) remain uncertain. Now, investigators report successful use of a 4-week course of early prophylactic antivirals.

In a single-center, open-label study, 10 HCV-uninfected patients underwent planned kidney transplantation from 10 HCV-nucleic-acid-test-positive (NAT-positive) donors. The pangenotypic combination of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir (GP) was administered prior to organ perfusion and for an additional 4 weeks. Serial quantitative measurements of HCV RNA were performed. In all 10 recipients, HCV RNA was undetectable by any measurem…