Clinical Outcomes and Donor-specific Antibody Rebound 5 y After Kidney Transplant Enabled by Imlifidase Desensitization.

Background: Imlifidase is an IgG-cleaving endopeptidase conditionally approved in Europe for desensitization of highly sensitized patients before kidney transplantation. We present 5-y outcomes and donor-specific antibody (DSA) levels for clinical trial participants from a single site who received imlifidase for desensitization before incompatible transplantation (NCT02790437).

Methods: Imlifidase was administered up to 24 h before living or deceased donor kidney transplantation.

Second Time Around: Increased Rate of Living Donation From Repeat Organ Donors.

Introduction: Some living organ donors will decide to donate again at a later date. Evidence has indicated that this practice may have increased in recent years. We evaluated the incidence and outcomes of this practice to inform counseling of potential repeat donors.

HLA EPLET Frequencies Are Similar in Six Population Groups and Are Expressed by the Most Common HLA Alleles.

The degree of immunological compatibility between donors and recipients greatly impacts allograft survival. In the United States kidney allocation system, HLA antigen-level matching has been shown to cause ethnic disparities and thus, has been de-emphasised. However, priority points are still awarded for antigen-level zero-ABDR matching, zero-DR matching and one-DR matching.

Balancing equity and human leukocyte antigen matching in deceased-donor kidney allocation with eplet mismatch.

Human leukocyte antigen-level matching in US kidney allocation has been deemphasized due to its role in elevating racial disparities. Molecular matching based on eplets might improve risk stratification compared to antigen matching, but the magnitude of racial disparities in molecular matching is not known. To assign eplets unambiguously, we utilized a cohort of 5193 individuals with high-resolution allele-level human leukocyte antigen genotypes from the National Kidney Registry.

Prophylactic 2-week Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir in Hepatitis C positive to negative kidney transplantation.

Background And Hypothesis: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive-to-negative kidney transplants (KT) require direct acting antiviral therapy, but the optimal timing and duration remain unclear. We hypothesized that 14-day prophylactic course of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir 300/120 mg (GLE/PIB) would be safe and effective at treating donor-derived HCV viremia.

Methods: This was a prospective, single-center, single-arm, open-label pilot study.

Generalizability of kidney transplant data in electronic health records - The Epic Cosmos database vs the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

Developing real-world evidence from electronic health records (EHR) is vital to advancing kidney transplantation (KT). We assessed the feasibility of studying KT using the Epic Cosmos aggregated EHR data set, which includes 274 million unique individuals cared for in 238 US health systems, by comparing it with the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). We identified 69 418 KT recipients who underwent transplants between January 2014 and December 2022 in Cosmos (39.

ChatGPT Solving Complex Kidney Transplant Cases: A Comparative Study With Human Respondents.

Introduction: ChatGPT has shown the ability to answer clinical questions in general medicine but may be constrained by the specialized nature of kidney transplantation. Thus, it is important to explore how ChatGPT can be used in kidney transplantation and how its knowledge compares to human respondents.

Methods: We prompted ChatGPT versions 3.

Obesogenic Medication Use in End-Stage Kidney Disease and Association With Transplant Listing.

Objectives: Obesogenic medications are a putative contributor to the obesity epidemic. While 20% of adults take ≥1 obesogenic medication, the proportion in the end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) population-a group enriched for cardiometabolic complications-is unknown. Obesogenic medications may contribute to obesity and hamper weight loss efforts to achieve transplant listing.

American Society of Transplant Surgeons Normothermic Regional Perfusion Standards: Ethical, Legal, and Operational Conformance.

Background: The American Society of Transplant Surgeons convened a multidisciplinary working group to address operational, ethical, and legal considerations surrounding normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) procurement.

Methods: The working group, comprising members from American Society of Transplant Surgeons and AST across various disciplines including transplant surgery, hepatology, critical care, and bioethics, collaborated to formulate recommendations and guidance for NRP procurement.

Results: The following topics were identified by the group as essential standards that need to be addressed for ethical, legal, and operational conformance: terminology; conceptualization of death in the context of NRP; and communication, logistics, and training and competency.

Posoleucel in Kidney Transplant Recipients with BK Viremia: Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Trial.

Key Points: Posoleucel was generally safe, well tolerated, and associated with a greater reduction of BK viremia compared with placebo. BK viremia reduction occurred coincident with an increase in the circulating frequency of BK virus–specific T cells in posoleucel recipients. The presence and persistence of posoleucel was confirmed by T-cell receptor variable sequencing.

Single center utilization and post-transplant outcomes of thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion deceased cardiac donor organs.

Introduction: Thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) following cardiac death is an emerging multivisceral organ procurement technique. Recent national studies on outcomes of presumptive TA-NRP-procured organs are limited by potential misclassification since TA-NRP is not differentiated from donation after cardiac death (DCD) in registry data.

Methods: We studied 22 donors whose designees consented to TA-NRP and organ procurement performed at our institution between January 20, 2020 and July 3, 2022.

A2/A2B to B deceased donor kidney transplantation in the Kidney Allocation System era.

Kidney transplantation from blood type A2/A2B donors to type B recipients (A2→B) has increased dramatically under the current Kidney Allocation System (KAS). Among living donor transplant recipients, A2-incompatible transplants are associated with an increased risk of all-cause and death-censored graft failure. In light of this, we used data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients from December 2014 until June 2022 to evaluate the association between A2→B listing and time to deceased donor kidney transplantation (DDKT) and post-DDKT outcomes for A2→B recipients.

External Validation of Toulouse-Rangueil eGFR12 Prediction Model After Living Donor Nephrectomy.

Decreased postdonation eGFR is associated with a higher risk of ESRD after living kidney donation, even when accounting for predonation characteristics. The Toulouse-Rangueil model (TRM) estimates 12 month postdonation eGFR (eGFR12) to inform counseling of candidates for living donation. The TRM was validated in several single-center European cohorts but has not been validated in US donors.

Immune response, phenotyping and molecular graft surveillance in kidney transplant recipients following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccination.

Background: Understanding immunogenicity and alloimmune risk following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination in kidney transplant recipients is imperative to understanding the correlates of protection and to inform clinical guidelines.

Methods: We studied 50 kidney transplant recipients following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and quantified their anti-spike protein antibody, donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA), gene expression profiling (GEP), and alloantibody formation.

Results: Participants were stratified using nucleocapsid testing as either SARS-CoV-2-naïve or experienced prior to vaccination.

Development and Validation of an Abridged Physical Frailty Phenotype for Clinical Use: A Cohort Study Among Kidney Transplant Candidates.

Background: Frailty is associated with poor outcomes in surgical patients including kidney transplant (KT) recipients. Transplant centers that measure frailty have better pre- and postoperative outcomes. However, clinical utility of existing tools is low due to time constraints.

Single-port robotic-assisted ureteral reconstruction for management of strictures after renal transplantation.

Ureteral strictures are a common and often challenging complication of renal transplantation. The use of single-port (SP) robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery is a novel approach in the management of these patients. Here we describe 3 patients with stricture of the transplant ureter causing hydronephrosis and allograft dysfunction, whose ureteral reconstructions were successfully performed using the SP robotic-assisted laparoscopic approach.

Staged Endovascular and Surgical Management of a Mycotic Pseudoaneurysm After Pancreas Transplant.

Mycotic pseudoaneurysms are a rare, life-threatening complication after pancreas transplant. There have been limited reports of endovascular treatment of mycotic pseudoaneurysms in pancreas transplant recipients. Herein, we report on a case of a mycotic pseudoaneurysm from Pseudomonas aeruginosa after pancreas transplant.

Beyond donation to organ utilization in the USA.

Purpose Of Review: The deceased donor organ pool has broadened beyond young, otherwise healthy head trauma victims. But an abundance of donated organs only benefits patients if they are accepted, expeditiously transported and actually transplanted. This review focuses on postdonation challenges and opportunities to increase the number of transplants through improved organ utilization.

Gabapentin, Concomitant Prescription of Opioids, and Benzodiazepines among Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: Gabapentinoids, commonly used for treating neuropathic pain, may be misused and coprescribed with opioid and benzodiazepine, increasing the risk of mortality and dependency among kidney transplant recipients.

Methods: We identified adult kidney transplant recipients who enrolled in Medicare Part D in 2006-2017 using the United States Renal Data System/Medicare claims database. We characterized recipients' post-transplant concomitant prescription of gabapentinoids, opioids, and benzodiazepine stratified by transplant year and recipient factors (age, sex, race, and diabetes).

One-year immunologic outcomes of lung transplantation utilizing hepatitis C-viremic donors.

Little is known about the effects of hepatitis C viremia on immunologic outcomes in the era of direct-acting antivirals. We conducted a prospective, single-arm trial of lung transplantation from hepatitis C-infected donors into hepatitis C-naïve recipients (n = 21). Recipients were initiated on glecaprevir-pibrentasvir immediately post-transplant and were continued on therapy for a total of 8 weeks.

Results of Two Cases of Pig-to-Human Kidney Xenotransplantation.

Background: Xenografts from genetically modified pigs have become one of the most promising solutions to the dearth of human organs available for transplantation. The challenge in this model has been hyperacute rejection. To avoid this, pigs have been bred with a knockout of the alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene and with subcapsular autologous thymic tissue.