Kidney Transplant

A patient awaiting a kidney transplant from a living donor was told by a Colorado hospital that the surgery would be on hold until she and the donor were vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.

A phase 2 trial sponsored and funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will assess the antibody response of a third dose of COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients.

The FDA has approved the immunosuppressant drug tacrolimus to prevent rejection in adult and pediatric patients who receive lung transplants, according to a press release.

A study of COVID-19 vaccine responses among kidney transplant recipients in Israel suggested that they may remain at high risk for COVID-19 even after vaccination, according to results published in The American Journal of Transplantation.

A thematic analysis of health records revealed the current system for kidney transplant evaluation is “rigid and demanding,” leading researchers to conclude work must be done to individualize the process and make it more collaborative.

For kidney transplant recipients hospitalized with COVID-19, neither reducing nor withdrawing immunosuppression therapy led to allograft rejection or the development of donor-specific antibodies.

The association of donor-recipient size mismatch on long-term graft survival is influenced greatly by recipient and donor age, according to findings from a recently published study.

In its proposed spending plan for 2020 released on February 10, the Trump administration includes a proposal to extend Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant patients.

PHOENIX — Defining health equity as “the elimination of avoidable disparities in health outcomes among socially disadvantaged groups,” Darren Stewart, MD, a research scientist at the United Network for Organ Sharing, outlined how the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network goes about monitoring the transplantation process and also named the four factors most strongly associated with disparities in access to kidney transplant.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Improving the transplant rate and ensuring patients are presented all options for kidney care are high priorities for Advancing American Kidney Health, an HHS official said during a keynote talk, here.