Recent Research Confirms Kidney Transplants Are Safe Between Individuals with HIV
A significant study reveals that individuals with HIV can safely receive kidney transplants from deceased donors who also have the virus. This development aligns with the U.S. government's efforts to broaden the practice, potentially decreasing wait times for organ transplants for everyone, regardless of HIV status.
TroibNews 
A significant study has found that individuals with HIV can safely receive kidneys from deceased donors who also have the virus, a finding that aligns with the U.S. government's efforts to broaden this practice. This development could reduce wait times for organ transplants for everyone, irrespective of their HIV status.
Published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study examined 198 kidney transplants across the United States. It revealed that outcomes were comparable whether the donated kidneys were from HIV-positive or HIV-negative donors.
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services suggested a rule change that would permit such kidney and liver transplants beyond research contexts. If enacted, this final rule would apply to both living and deceased organ donors and could be implemented within the next year.
The study participants were all HIV-positive individuals suffering from kidney failure. They consented to receive a kidney from either an HIV-positive or HIV-negative deceased donor, depending on which organ became available first.
The researchers monitored the transplant recipients for up to four years, contrasting the outcomes for those who received kidneys from HIV-positive donors with those who received organs from HIV-negative donors.
Findings indicated that both groups experienced high overall survival rates and low rates of organ rejection. Among the HIV-positive donor group, virus levels increased in 13 patients, while four patients in the other group experienced similar issues. These instances were primarily linked to inconsistent adherence to HIV medications, but in all cases, the virus levels subsequently returned to very low or undetectable statuses.
"This demonstrates the safety and the fantastic outcomes that we're seeing from these transplants," noted Dorry Segev, a study co-author from NYU Langone Health.
In 2010, South African surgeons first established the safety of using organs from HIV-positive donors in HIV-positive recipients. However, the U.S. did not permit this practice until 2013 when the government lifted a previous ban, allowing research studies at Segev's recommendation. Initially focused on deceased donors, the research expanded when, in 2019, Segev and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University completed the first kidney transplant from a living HIV-positive donor to an HIV-positive recipient.
To date, there have been a total of 500 transplants involving kidneys and livers from HIV-positive donors in the U.S.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Elmi Muller from Stellenbosch University in South Africa remarked that the findings will likely have "far-reaching effects in many countries that do not perform transplantations with these organs."
"Above all, we have taken yet another step toward fairness and equality for persons living with HIV," wrote Muller, who has been a pioneer in this field.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
Published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study examined 198 kidney transplants across the United States. It revealed that outcomes were comparable whether the donated kidneys were from HIV-positive or HIV-negative donors.
Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services suggested a rule change that would permit such kidney and liver transplants beyond research contexts. If enacted, this final rule would apply to both living and deceased organ donors and could be implemented within the next year.
The study participants were all HIV-positive individuals suffering from kidney failure. They consented to receive a kidney from either an HIV-positive or HIV-negative deceased donor, depending on which organ became available first.
The researchers monitored the transplant recipients for up to four years, contrasting the outcomes for those who received kidneys from HIV-positive donors with those who received organs from HIV-negative donors.
Findings indicated that both groups experienced high overall survival rates and low rates of organ rejection. Among the HIV-positive donor group, virus levels increased in 13 patients, while four patients in the other group experienced similar issues. These instances were primarily linked to inconsistent adherence to HIV medications, but in all cases, the virus levels subsequently returned to very low or undetectable statuses.
"This demonstrates the safety and the fantastic outcomes that we're seeing from these transplants," noted Dorry Segev, a study co-author from NYU Langone Health.
In 2010, South African surgeons first established the safety of using organs from HIV-positive donors in HIV-positive recipients. However, the U.S. did not permit this practice until 2013 when the government lifted a previous ban, allowing research studies at Segev's recommendation. Initially focused on deceased donors, the research expanded when, in 2019, Segev and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University completed the first kidney transplant from a living HIV-positive donor to an HIV-positive recipient.
To date, there have been a total of 500 transplants involving kidneys and livers from HIV-positive donors in the U.S.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Elmi Muller from Stellenbosch University in South Africa remarked that the findings will likely have "far-reaching effects in many countries that do not perform transplantations with these organs."
"Above all, we have taken yet another step toward fairness and equality for persons living with HIV," wrote Muller, who has been a pioneer in this field.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
