Expedited SARS-CoV-2 screening of donors and recipients supports continued solid organ transplantation.
Am J Transplant
; 20(11): 3106-3112, 2020 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-642704
ABSTRACT
Universal screening of potential organ donors and recipients for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is now recommended prior to transplantation in the United States during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Challenges have included limited testing capacity, short windows of organ viability, brief lead time for notification of potential organ recipients, and the need to test lower respiratory donor specimens to optimize sensitivity. In an early U.S. epicenter of the outbreak, we designed and implemented a system to expedite this testing and the results here from the first 3 weeks. The process included a Laboratory Medicine designee for communication with organ recovery and transplant clinical staff, specialized sample labeling and handoff, and priority processing. Thirty-two organs recovered from 14 of 17 screened donors were transplanted vs 70 recovered from 23 donors during the same period in 2019. No pretransplant or organ donors tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Median turnaround time from specimen receipt was 6.8 hours (donors), 6.5 hours (recipients) 4.5 hours faster than daily inpatient median. No organ recoveries or transplantations were disrupted by a lack of SARS-CoV-2 testing. Waitlist inactivations for COVID-19 precautions were reduced in our region. Systems that include specialized ordering pathways and adequate testing capacity can support continued organ transplantation, even in a SARS-CoV-2 hyperendemic area.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mass Screening
/
Organ Transplantation
/
Pandemics
/
Transplant Recipients
/
COVID-19 Testing
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Transplant
Journal subject:
Transplantation
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ajt.16081
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS