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Abstract Details
Exploring patient willingness to accept hepatitis C-infected kidneys for transplantation
BMC Nephrol. 2020 Nov 10;21(1):473. doi: 10.1186/s12882-020-02114-y.
Gretchen C Edwards1, Maren E Shipe2, Lindsay Smith3, Christianna Gamble3, David Shaffer4, Beatrice P Concepcion5, Rachel Forbes4
Author information
1Department of General Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Medical Center North, Suite CCC-4312, 1161 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232-2730, USA. Gretchen.C.Edwards@vumc.org.
2Department of General Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Medical Center North, Suite CCC-4312, 1161 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232-2730, USA.
3Vanderbilt University Medical Center Transplant Center, Nashville, USA.
4Department of General Surgery, Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA.
5Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA.
Abstract
Background: As organs infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) provide an opportunity to expand the donor pool, the primary aim of this study is to explore patient willingness to accept a kidney from HCV-infected donors compared to other high-risk donors.
Methods: An anonymous, electronic survey was sent to all active kidney transplant waitlist patients at a single large volume transplant center. Patients were asked to respond to three hypothetical organ offers from the following: 1) HCV-infected donor 2) Donor with active intravenous drug use and 3) Donor with longstanding diabetes and hypertension.
Results: The survey was sent to 435 patients of which 125 responded (29% response rate). While 86 out of 125 patients (69%) were willing to accept an HCV-infected kidney, only a minority of respondents were willing to accept a kidney from other high-risk donors. In contrast to other studies, by multivariable logistic regression, age and race were not associated with willingness to accept an HCV-infected kidney.
Conclusions: In this exploratory study, utilization of kidneys from HCV-infected donors to expand the donor pool appears to be an acceptable option to patients.