COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Liver Donation in the Largest Brazilian Transplantation Center.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has spread worldwide and has become a public health emergency and a pandemic of international concern. The solid organ donation system was no different. This study aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the liver transplant (LT) system in Brazilian territory. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all liver donor records allocated in São Paulo State, Brazil, 1 year before and 1 year during the COVID-19 pandemic. We defined the pre-COVID-19 (PRE) period as between April 2019 and April 2020 and the post-COVID-19 (POST) period as between April 2020 and April 2021. Moreover, we compared LT performed in our institution during these periods. To evaluate outcomes, we compared 30-day survival after LT. RESULTS: In the PRE period, 1452 livers were offered for donation in São Paulo State and other Brazilian territories. Of these, 592 were used in LT. In the POST period, 1314 livers were offered for donation, but only 477 were used in LT. Organ refusal was higher in the POST period (P < .05). Our center performed 127 and 156 LTs in these periods, respectively, and an increase above 20% was significant (P = .039). There was no difference in 30-day survival between the periods (87.2% vs 87.9%, P > .5, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic harmed potential and allocated donors and LTs performed. However, it is possible to maintain the LT volume of a transplant center without compromising survival outcomes through preventive strategies against COVID-19 propagation.