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Robot-Assisted Kidney Transplantation
Published on: July 19, 2021
Transplantation Opportunities of Hepatitis C Virus-Seropositive Patients on the Kidney Waiting List
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Uludağ University Medical School, Bursa, Turkey.
Insights
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection significantly increases kidney transplant waiting times for candidates. Anti-HCV-positive individuals experience longer waits, impacting transplantation opportunities.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Hepatology
- Transplantation Immunology
Background:
- Kidney transplantation faces organ shortages and challenges from hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
- Long waiting times on deceased donor lists are a significant obstacle for potential recipients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of HCV serology on the number of times candidates are called for kidney transplantation.
- To analyze waiting durations and transplantation call frequency based on HCV status.
Main Methods:
- A 6-year retrospective evaluation of 404 adult candidates on the deceased donor waiting list.
- Data collected included demographic information, waiting time, transplantation call frequency, and HCV viral serology.
Main Results:
- Anti-HCV-positive candidates had significantly longer mean waiting durations (85.3 months) and higher call numbers (10.8 times) compared to anti-HCV-negative candidates (39.8 months, 0.92 times).
- HCV RNA-positive candidates also showed significantly longer waiting times (107.5 months) and more frequent calls (15 times) than HCV RNA-negative candidates.
Conclusions:
- Chronic HCV infection is a major factor contributing to extended waiting periods for kidney transplant candidates.
- Despite longer waits, anti-HCV-positive candidates may have more frequent transplantation opportunities, warranting further investigation.
Objective:
Besides severe organ shortage, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important obstacle for kidney transplantation because of long waiting times on deceased kidney donor waiting lists. We aimed to evaluate calling number of candidates according to HCV serology.
Method:
A total of 404 adults on the deceased donor waiting list invited for cadaveric transplantation was evaluated. Demographic data, waiting time, calling number for transplantation, and viral serology were obtained during the 6-year period.
Results:
Mean waiting duration and calling number of all patients were 42.7 ± 34 months and 1.56 ± 4.37 times, respectively. Twenty-six candidates had chronic HCV infection and 12 of 26 were HCV RNA-positive. Mean waiting duration and calling number in anti-HCV-positive candidates were significantly higher compared with anti-HCV-negative candidates (85.3 ± 38.8 vs 39.8 ± 31.6 months, and 10.8 ± 10.3 vs 0.92 ± 2.6 times, respectively; P < .001). Mean waiting duration and total calling number in HCV-RNA-positive candidates were significantly higher than in HCV-RNA-negative ones (107.5 ± 7.5 vs 66.2 ± 44.8 months; P = .018; 15 ± 9.7 vs 7.3 ± 9.8 times, respectively; P = .026).
Conclusions:
Chronic HCV infection is an important issue leading to longer waiting time on the list. Our observation showed that waiting durations of anti-HCV-positive candidates were longer than that of negative patients, although they had more frequent opportunity for transplantation.
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