Utilization of Hepatitis C Virus–Infected Organ Donors in Cardiothoracic Transplantation

Published 8 March 2020

Saima Aslam, MD, MS; Paolo Grossi, MD, PhD; Kelly H. Schlendorf, MD, MHS; Are M. Holm, MD, PhD; Ann E. Woolley, MD, MPH; Emily Blumberg, MD; Mandeep R. Mehra, MD, MSc

J Heart Lung Transplant. May 2020;39(5):418-432

• Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation
• Advanced Lung Failure & Transplantation
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Consensus Document
• Infectious Diseases
• Publications & Journals
• Standards & Guidelines

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an RNA virus, consisting of at least 6 distinct genotypes and several subtypes. HCV infection lasting for many years is a leading cause of end-stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver-related death globally.

Before the advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAA), several large registry-based analyses noted increased mortality following heart and lung transplantation in patients with pre-existing HCV infection. Similarly, transplantation of thoracic organs from HCV seropositive donors was associated with inferior survival.

The advent of therapies for successful treatment of HCV virus has allowed the heart and lung transplant community to re-explore the use of HCV–positive donors for organ transplantation, with a benefit for many terminally ill patients. The consensus statements provided in this document represent the current state of knowledge and expertise in this area, which we expect will continue to rapidly evolve over the next few years.

Read at JHLT

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