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Abstract Details
Review of heart transplantation from hepatitis C-positive donors
World J Transplant. 2022 Dec 18;12(12):394-404. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v12.i12.394.
1Department of Cardiology, West Roxbury VA Center, West Roxbury, MA 02132, United States.
2Department of Cardiology, University of Connecticut, Harford Hospital, Hartford, CT 06102, United States.
3Department of Cardiology, University of California, CA 90065, United States.
4Department of Internal Medicine, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT 06106, United States.
5Advanced Heart Failure, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT 06102, United States. jason.gluck@hhchealth.org.
Abstract
Significant scarcity of a donor pool exists for heart transplantation (HT) as the prevalence of patients with end-stage refractory heart failure is increasing exceptionally. With the discovery of effective direct-acting antiviral and favorable short-term outcomes following HT, the hearts from hepatitis C virus (HCV) patient are being utilized to increase the donor pool. Short-term outcomes with regards to graft function, coronary artery vasculopathy, and kidney and liver disease is comparable in HCV-negative recipients undergoing HT from HCV-positive donors compared to HCV-negative donors. A significant high incidence of donor-derived HCV transmission was observed with great success of achieving sustained viral response with the use of direct-acting antivirals. By accepting HCV-positive organs, the donor pool has expanded with younger donors, a shorter waitlist time, and a reduction in waitlist mortality. However, the long-term outcomes and impact of specific HCV genotypes remains to be seen. We reviewed the current literature on HT from HCV-positive donors.