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Nearly one-third of physicians changed their practice after HIV transmission from organ transplant
Kucirka LM. Arch Surg. 2011;146:41-45.
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Common surgeon responses to the rare but highly publicized case of HIV transmission via organ transplant were avoidance and an increased emphasis on informed consent, according to new findings published in Archives of Surgery.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University set out to assess the changes in practice among transplant surgeons after the first reported case of HIV transmission from a CDC high-risk donor during 2007.
A survey was administered to various transplant centers across the US between January and April 2008, including 422 transplant surgeons. The survey assessed the practices and attitudes of transplant surgeons regarding high-risk donors.
Descriptions of changes in practice after the first recorded case were sorted, and associations between responses and regional-, center- and physician-level factors were assessed.
Overall, 31.6% of surgeons reported changing their practice after the high-risk donor case and 41.7% reported decreased use of high-risk donors. Moreover, 34.5% of surgeons reported increasing emphasis on informed consent, 16.7% increased use of nucleic acid testing and 6% implemented a formal policy.
Fear of being sued or pressure from the surgeon’s hospital was associated with more than twofold higher odds for changing practice. Medical risks for HIV were significant disincentives and were associated with 8.29-fold higher odds for decreasing use of a high-risk donor, according to the researchers.
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