Transplant of SARS-CoV-2–infected Living Donor Liver: Case Report

• Published in: Transplantation direct Vol. 7; no. 8; p. e721
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Michelle C., Lee, Eliza J., Avery, Robin K., Dioverti-Prono, M. Veronica, Shoham, Shmuel, Tobian, Aaron A. R., Bloch, Evan M., Gurakar, Ahmet, Rizkalla, Nicole A., Cameron, Andrew M., King, Elizabeth A., Ottmann, Shane, Garonzik-Wang, Jacqueline M., Wesson, Russel N., Philosophe, Benjamin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.08.2021; Wolters Kluwer
• Subjects: Liver Transplantation
• ISSN: 2373-8731; 2373-8731
• DOI: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001178

Given the high community prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), transplant programs will encounter SARS-CoV-2 infections in living donors or recipients in the perioperative period. There is limited data on SARS-CoV-2 viremia and organotropism beyond the respiratory tract to inform the risk of transplant transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We report a case of a living donor liver transplant recipient who received a right lobe graft from a living donor with symptomatic PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection 3 d following donation. The donor was successfully treated with remdesivir, dexamethasone, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescent plasma. No viral transmission was identified, and both donor and recipient had excellent postoperative outcomes.