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Most Kidney Transplants Between People with HIV Have Long-Term Success

Posted on October 03, 2019

Source: NIH

Most Kidney Transplants Between People with HIV Have Long-Term Success

"People living with HIV who received kidney transplants from deceased donors with HIV had high rates of overall survival and kidney graft survival after five years, according to an observational study published online today in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study, which incorporated data from transplants beginning in 2008, was a collaboration of researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa, with joint support from NIH and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). The investigators followed 51 study participants with HIV who received kidney transplants from deceased donors with HIV in South Africa."

“'In South Africa, the United States, and elsewhere, a growing number of people with HIV have a need for kidney transplants. Unfortunately, these gifts of life are too often in short supply,' said Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. 'This observational study provides additional evidence that organs from donors with HIV could be a new donation source for people living with both HIV and end-stage kidney disease. If these findings are corroborated in ongoing clinical trials, we will have a chance to improve the health of many people living with HIV and increase the overall supply of transplantable organs.'"

"NIAID researchers worked closely with University of Cape Town physicians and scientists to design and perform the co-funded study. All kidney transplantations and primary laboratory analyses occurred in South Africa, with additional laboratory support provided by NIAID’s Laboratory of Immunoregulation in Baltimore."

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