Can organs from patients with COVID-19 be used for transplantation? This topic has always been controversial in the medical community.
On March 23, the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022) released a meeting abstract proposedtransplanted COVID-19 nucleic acid positive death The patient’s organs will not cause the recipient to contract the new coronavirus.
Image source: ECCMID official website
The study, conducted by a research team at Duke University School of Medicine, included 4 organ recipients, 2 for liver transplants and 2 for kidney-pancreas Combined transplant surgery.
Organ donors were 4 people with 2019-nCoV nucleic acid positive infection, 2 of whom died of complications of 2019-nCoV (pulmonary embolism and multibacterial brain abscess, respectively), and the other 2 donated died of other causes (hemorrhagic stroke and drug overdose, respectively).
In addition to these four organ recipients, one combined heart-liver transplant recipient developed a coronary artery blockage after surgery, and the researchers used one who died from gunshot wounds. Hearts donated by asymptomatic COVID-19 patients successfully completed emergency heart retransplantation.
After the operation, the transplanted organs had stable functions, and no unexpected immune rejection occurred. None of the recipients had contracted new coronary pneumonia through transplantation, nor did the medical staff appear The spread of COVID-19.
Notably, none of the four organ recipients in this study were vaccinated.
Explain the researchers: “Because of the need for immunosuppressive medications after transplantation, unvaccinated patients may be at increased risk of severe COVID-19 in transplant patients, so we strongly encourage patients on the waiting list to be vaccinated. Vaccines. However, at this time we are not excluding unvaccinated people from the organ transplant list.”
This research has been peer-reviewed by the ECCMID Conference Selection Committee, but the full paper has not yet been submitted for publication and is currently only published as a conference abstract.
Worldwide, the number of countries accepting organ donations from patients with COVID-19 remains small. In December 2020, organ donation societies in 19 countries issued position statements on the use of organs donated by patients with COVID-19. Sixteen of these associations strongly recommend avoiding the use of donor organs that test positive for Covid-19 or are at high risk of infection, and only 3 associations recommend using organs donated by people who have recovered from Covid-19 for transplantation.
The current attitude of our country is not to accept organ donation from patients with COVID-19.
Image source: Screenshot of the paper
According to my country’s “Guiding Principles for National Organ Donation and Transplantation During the Epidemic of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (adopted on February 23, 2002)”, except for the taboos of routine donation in normal times In addition, those with the following conditions are listed as contraindicated for organ donation:
COVID-19 confirmed or suspected or clinically diagnosed patients;
Have a clear epidemiological history of COVID-19 within 14 days before the onset of the disease or a history of contact with a person with a history of epidemiological history of the new crown (donation can be considered only if there is no disease after 14 days of isolation and observation);
Due to unknown risk of donor exposure to COVID-19, hospitals in areas with high outbreaks or with cases of COVID-19 within 14 days are temporarily suspending organ donation.
Planning: Cats
Producer: gyouza
Information source: ECCMID official website