In Midst Of Perpetual Nationwide Organ Shortage, Study Offers Hope That It’s Safe To Transplant Hep-C Infected Hearts, Lungs
In the United States, there are currently 5,226 patients waiting on the heart or lung transplant list, and about 1,000 people a year die waiting for an organ. Until recently, doctors tended to transplant hepatitis C-infected organs only into patients who already had that virus, but a new study might change all that.
The Associated Press:
Study: Safe To Transplant Hepatitis C-Infected Hearts, Lungs
Doctors can safely transplant hepatitis C-infected lungs and hearts into people desperate for a new organ, say researchers who may have found a way to protect those patients from getting the risky virus. The experiment, reported Wednesday, is the latest attempt to put a dent in the nation's long transplant waiting list by using organs that otherwise would be wasted, often ones from victims of the opioid epidemic. (4/3)
NPR:
Study: Hepatitis C Infected Organs OK For Heart And Lung Transplants
Typically, these organs have been discarded because of concerns about spreading the viral infection. But a study of heart and lung transplants published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine finds that new antiviral drugs are so effective that the recipients can be protected from infection. And, as another sad result of the opioid epidemic, organs for donation increasingly carry the hepatitis C virus. People who use injected drugs and share needles are at high risk of hepatitis C infection. (Harris, 4/3)
Stat:
Study Backs Transplanting Hepatitis C-Infected Hearts And Lungs
The trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the largest to examine the safety of using infected lungs and hearts. The researchers, led by Dr. Ann Woolley of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, estimated that using organs from donors infected with hepatitis C could increase the supply of hearts and lungs by at least 25 percent. (Corley, 4/3)
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
New Drugs Allow Safe Transplant Of Hearts And Lungs From Donors With Hepatitis C, Could Boost Supply Of Organs By 25 Percent
Transplant surgeons hope that eventually, these early results will pave the way for thousands of additional organ transplants each year, provided that insurers agree to pay for the expensive drugs. The expected source for most of these additional organs is deaths from the opioid epidemic — a silver lining for a grim reality of 21st-century America. (Avril, 4/3)
