Covid‐19 positive donor utilization for heart transplantation: The new frontier for donor pool expansion

Abstract

Background: Hearts from COVID‐19 positive donors (CPD) are being utilized for heart transplantation by some centers; however, this is in the setting of the lack of guidelines or robust evidence. The paucity of evidence is reflected in the recent Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) communication describing CPD utilization as an “unknown risk.” Methods and Results: We analyzed the UNOS database for adult heart transplants performed between January 2021 to December 2022, and CPD comprised of a significant percentage of donors, being used in >10% of recipients in some UNOS regions. Between July 2022 and December 2022, 7.9% of heart transplants were with CPD, and in the same period Hepatitis C positive donors accounted for 7.1% and donation after circulatory death (DCD) accounted for 10.3%. Conclusion: If the transplant community comes up with a standardized approach and guidance in using CPD hearts, this could provide an effective donor pool expansion strategy.

Successful heart transplantation from a COVID‐19‐positive donor: A clinical case report

“…Even after the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration about the end of the COVID‐19 pandemic, new variants are still emerging. According to previous studies, SARS–CoV–2‐positive donor hearts are known to increase the number of available donor hearts, reduce waiting periods, and improve survival rates for patients waiting for heart transplants 4,5 . Based on recent updates in Recommendations and Guidance for Organ Donor Testing and Evaluation, non‐lung donors are accepted as heart donors because of the low possibility of transmission of infection 6 …”