Kidney Transplantation: Offering HOPE for Those with HIV

HIV infection has long been a contraindication to organ donation. Now, in an observational noninferiority study (HOPE in Action), investigators have evaluated outcomes in 198 recipients of kidney transplants who had HIV and who received organs from deceased donors with or without HIV (146 total donors). The first available kidney was offered; 27 donors had false-positive HIV tests.

The primary outcome (a composite of death, graft failure, serious adverse event, HIV breakthrough infection, failure of HIV treatment, or opportunistic infection) was noninferior in the group having donors with HIV (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.73–1.38). Secondary outcomes — e.g., survival with or without graft loss, organ rejection — sh…