Study: Kidney transplants safe between donors, patients with HIV

Editor's Note

An observational study of kidney transplant patients with HIV shows that organs from donors with HIV appeared to be noninferior to those from donors without.  

Published October 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the observational study analyzed 198 kidney transplants conducted at 26 US centers and involving recipients with HIV who received organs from either donors with HIV or donors without. The study found no significant difference in overall survival or organ rejection rates between the two groups.

As reported in the Associated Press (AP), the findings have significant implications for addressing the organ shortage in the US, even among patients who do not have HIV. The study supports a proposed rule change from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would expand the practice of kidney and liver transplants between people with HIV beyond research trials. If the rule is approved, it will apply to both living and deceased donors and could take effect next year.

First investigated in South Africa in 2010, the use of HIV-positive donor organs was legalized in the U.S. in 2013, AP reports. The first suchtransplant from a living donor was conducted in 2019. To date, approximately 500 kidney and liver transplants between people with HIV have been performed in the US.