Outcomes following liver transplantation from HCV-seropositive donors to HCV-seronegative recipients

Background & Aims: Grafts from HCV-seropositive donors can now be considered for liver transplantation (LT) owing to the advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). We report on our multicenter experience of transplanting liver grafts from HCVseropositive donors into HCV-seronegative recipients.. Methods: This is a prospective multicenter observational study evaluating outcomes in adult HCV-seronegative LT recipients who received grafts from HCV-seropositive donors in 3 US centers. Results: From 01/18 to 09/19, 34 HCV-seronegative LT recipients received grafts from HCV-seropositive donors (20 HCV-viremic and 14 non-viremic). Seven grafts were from cardiac-dead donors. The median MELD-Na score at allocation was 20. Six recipients underwent simultaneous liver-kidney transplant and 4 repeat LT. No recipient of an HCV-non-viremic graft developed HCV viremia. All 20 patients who received HCV-viremic grafts had HCV viremia confirmed within 3 days after LT. DAA treatment was started at a median of 27.5 days after LT. Median pretreatment viral load was 723,000 IU/ml. All (20/20) patients completed treatment and achieved SVR12. Treatment was well tolerated with minimal adverse events. One patient developed HCV-related acute membranous nephropathy that resulted in end-stage kidney disease, despite achieving viral clearance. This patient died due to presumed infectious complications. A recipient of an HCV-non-viremic graft died with acute myocardial infarction 610 days post LT. Conclusions: Transplantation of liver grafts from HCVseropositive donors into HCV-seronegative recipients resulted in excellent short-term outcomes. Antiviral therapy was effective and well tolerated. Careful ongoing assessment and prompt initiation of antiviral therapy are recommended. Longer term follow-up in carefully conducted clinical trials is still required to confirm these results. Lay summary: This study shows that livers from donors exposed to HCV expand the donor pool and can be used safely in patients who are seronegative for hepatitis C infection. Treatment, initiated early post transplantation, is effective and resulted in cure in all patients. (C) 2020 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Transplanting liver grafts from HCV-seropositive donors into HCV-seronegative recipients resulted in excellent short-term outcomes, with all patients achieving cure through effective and well tolerated antiviral therapy. Further long-term follow-up in clinical trials is needed for confirmation.