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Updated guidelines for organ transplantation issued
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The CDC, in collaboration with the US Public Health Service, has issued a new set of draft guidelines to reduce the risk for infection transmission via organ transplantation. The new guidelines recommend the addition of hepatitis B and C virus to the list of organisms to be screened, according to a CDC press release.
“Our first priority must be patient safety,” Matthew J. Kuehnert, MD, director of CDC’s Office of Blood, Organ and Other Tissue Safety Office, said in a press release. “These recommendations will save lives and reduce unintended disease in organ recipients. The guidelines will help patients and their doctors have information they need to fully weigh risks and benefits of transplanting a particular organ.”
Between 2007 and 2010, more than 200 investigations of unexpected transmission of HIV, HBV and HCV via organ transplant were conducted. Some led to mortality of the transplant recipient, according to the CDC. For this reason, CDC and collaborators conducted a systematic review of key data available to update standards of organ transplants.
The end result is a call for more thorough donor screening of HBV, HCV and HIV, besides a revised set of donor risk factors. Officials also advanced organ testing, with a new focus on solid organs and vessel channel.
“We recognize that organ demand is much greater than availability, and that organ transplantation is often a lifesaving procedure,” Kuehnert said. “This guideline will assist the transplant community in ensuring that each patient is protected against unexpected diseases from the organ they so desperately need.”
For more information on the draft guidelines, please visit www.regulations.gov.
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