Kidney transplantation from hepatitis C virus-positive donors into hepatitis C virus-positive recipients: A safe way to expand the donor pool?

Introduction. Because the disparity between the number of patients waiting for kidney transplants and the number of available cadaveric renal allografts continues to increase, there is a clear need to review the inclusion criteria for cadaveric donors. Patients and Methods. From January 2001 to March 2004, 24 patients with end-stage renal disease and hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity underwent a kidney transplantation. In 10 transplants in HCV-positive recipients, the donor was HCV-positive (D+/R+) and in 14 cases the donor (I living donor) was HCV-negative (D-/R+). Results. Two of 3 HCV-RNA-negative recipients who received a HCV-RNA+ kidney became HCV-RNA+ in the posttransplantation period. There was a low rate of acute rejection (8.3%). One D+/R+ patient experienced an acute vascular rejection, which finally resulted in graft loss, due to the resurgence of severe infectious disease. The serum creatinine levels at 6 months posttransplantation were similar in both groups. Acute liver dysfunction was observed in 1 patient. There was no death in the entire series. Graft survival was 92% and 90% for D+/R+ and D-/R+, respectively.