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Background: Adolescent transplant patients are at increased risk for graft loss at a period when they also suffer from illness‐related social isolation, which has been exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic. The Peer Mentoring Program (PMP), developed in 2018, was adapted to a virtual format in 2020 due to COVID‐19. Our objective is to evaluate the acceptability, utility, and potential impact of the in‐person and virtual versions of the PMP on participants. Methods: We performed convergent mixed‐methods analysis of the experiences of patients participating in the PMP for quality improvement purposes. Results: Surveys and focus group invitations were sent to 18 current program participants, with 17 patients responding to the survey and 13 patients participating in focus groups. In this study, 82% were satisfied and 88% would recommend PMP; 76% identified other PMP members as people they would like to keep in touch with. Qualitative analysis revealed three themes: (1) a supportive community of peers, (2) reduced isolation, and (3) receiving accurate information from providers. Conclusions: There is a prominent need for greater peer support among adolescent transplant patients transitioning to adulthood, especially with the increased isolation associated with COVID‐19. The virtual adaptation could be an important, permanent supplement to in‐person events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Direct‐acting antivirals (DAA) transformed hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in 2014; however, their impact on transplant candidates' willingness to accept (CWTA) organs from HCV+ donors remains uncertain. We retrospectively studied Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data from 2008 to 2019, investigating CWTA different organs from HCV+ donors over time, using segmented multivariable logistic regression, and how that influenced wait‐time and deceased‐donor transplantation (DDTx) probability, using multivariable logistic or linear regression. We found that DAA availability was associated with a marked increase in CWTA in all organs from HCV+ donors except intestine. By December 2020, 40% of kidney, 33% of kidney‐pancreas, 42% of pancreas, over 50% of liver, heart, lung, heart‐lung, and 9% of intestine candidates waitlisted were CWTA an organ from HCV+ donors. Compared with pre‐DAA, yearly CWTA kidney from HCV+ donors increased post‐DAA 1.781.811.83‐fold, kidney–pancreas 2.52 2.78 3.07‐fold, pancreas 3.153.69 4.43‐fold, liver 1.531.541.56‐fold, heart 1.92 2.02.08 ‐fold, and lung 2.002.12.20 ‐fold. CWTA kidney and liver from HCV+ donors significantly increased DDTx probability post‐DAA (1.982.042.1‐fold and 1.241.291.33‐fold, respectively) and shortened kidney candidates' wait‐time7890101 days (Mean with 95% CI). CWTA organs from HCV+ donors rose significantly with DAA availability, benefitting kidney and liver candidates with increased DDTx rates and shortened kidney candidates' wait time. Further long‐term outcomes investigation and standardized organ from HCV+ donors' education could improve both provider and patient acceptance and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global shortage of donor organs has made it crucial to deeply understand and better predict donor liver viability. However, biomarkers that effectively assess viability of marginal grafts for organ transplantation are currently lacking. Here, we showed that hepatocytes, sinusoidal endothelial, stellate, and liver-specific immune cells were released into perfusates from Lewis rat livers as a result of cold ischemia and machine perfusion. Perfusate comparison analysis of fresh livers and cold ischemic livers showed that the released cell profiles were significantly altered by the duration of cold ischemia. Our findings show for the first time that parenchymal cells are released from organs under non-proliferative pathological conditions, correlating with the degree of ischemic injury. Thus, perfusate cell profiles could serve as potential biomarkers of graft viability and indicators of specific injury mechanisms during organ handling and transplantation. Further, parenchymal cell release may have applications in other pathological conditions beyond organ transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Direct-acting antivirals have changed the landscape of hepatitis C virus (HCV) care. While transplantation with HCV-positive donor organs is increasing, little is known about providers' attitudes toward this topic. The aim of this study is to determine providers' attitudes toward HCV-positive kidney transplantation.Methods: Willing transplant and nontransplant nephrologists, transplant surgeons, and mid-level providers completed an online survey from April through May 2018. The survey asked about HCV knowledge and willingness to transplant HCV-positive antibody, nucleic acid testing-positive kidneys into HCV-negative recipients. Descriptive analyses including mean and median for continuous variables and frequencies for categorical variables were calculated.Results: Seven-hundred surveys were emailed and 99 providers (62 transplant nephrologists, 28 nontransplant nephrologists, 7 transplant surgeons, and 2 advanced practice providers) completed the survey (participation rate 14.1%). All providers knew that HCV was curable, with 60% believing that it had no effect on transplant success and 32% thinking it reduced transplant success. Providers were significantly more likely to offer a HCV-positive organ to HCV-positive recipients compared to HCV-negative recipients in all queried circumstances (p < 0.005 in all cases), especially with increasing impact on patient's quality of life. While only 39% of providers would offer a HCV-positive organ for transplant to a patient without HCV if it reduced the waitlist time by 1 year, 92% would offer a HCV-positive organ if it reduced the waitlist time by 4 years. However, only 47% thought that the use of HCV-positive kidneys should be for routine care, while 38% believed it should be reserved for research purposes only. There were no significant differences between transplant and nontransplant nephrologists in attitudes toward HCV-positive kidney transplantation. Providers believed that donor organs from those who were obese, >50 years old, or had died from a cardiac arrest were significantly more likely to reduce the likelihood of a successful transplant 1-year posttransplant when compared with a HCV-positive organ (p < 0.005 in all cases). Eighty-six percent of providers had concerns about HCV curability posttransplant.Conclusion: Although 92% of providers were willing to offer a HCV-positive kidney for transplant as patient waitlist time increases, less than half supported offering HCV-positive transplantation for routine care rather than for research. The results underscore the need for further education and data about the efficacy and safety of HCV-positive kidney transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is no consensus regarding the optimal surgical treatment for transplantable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with well-compensated cirrhosis. Our aim was to compare outcomes between Child-Pugh A (CPA) cirrhotics who underwent liver resection or transplantation for HCC.Methods: Clinicopathologic data were retrospectively collected for all surgically treated HCC patients between 7/1992 and 12/2015. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated from the time of operation or diagnosis (intention-to-treat analysis including patients removed from the transplant list). The average overall cost including pre-operative and post-operative procedures was calculated for each group.Results: Of the 513 surgically treated HCC patients, 184 had CPA cirrhosis and fulfilled the Milan criteria (MC). Of those, 95 (52%) were resected and 89 (48%) were transplanted. Twenty-two patients were removed from the transplant list. Transplanted patients were younger (p < 0.001), had a higher MELD score (p < 0.001) and a higher frequency of hepatitis C (p < 0.001). Length of stay and postoperative complication rates were similar between groups. DFS was longer for transplanted patients (3-, 5-, and 10-year DFS rates 48, 44, 31% vs 96, 94, 94%, respectively, p < 0.001). OS was similar between groups (3-, 5-, and 10-year OS rates 76, 62, 41% vs 82, 77, 53%, respectively, p = 0.07). Only size of greatest lesion and T stage were independent predictors of OS. The cost was much higher for the transplant group, even when accounting for the treatment of recurrences ($37,391 vs $137,996).Conclusions: Since OS is similar between CPA cirrhotics within the MC undergoing resection or transplantation for HCC, but cost is significantly higher for transplantation. Resection should be considered for first-line treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of adverse outcomes for pediatric renal transplant patients is highest during the transition from pediatric to adult care. While there have been many studies focus on graft failure and death, loss to follow‐up likely plays a large role in patient outcomes. We hypothesize patients are lost to follow‐up during this transition period and that patients transplanted at pediatric centers with a closely affiliated adult center (AFFs) are less likely to suffer from fragmentation of care and become lost to follow‐up. AFFs were defined as those pediatric centers whose transplant surgeons were also on staff at an adult center and were identified using center websites. We included patients undergoing renal transplantation at <=18 years of age and had data for the entire transition period on the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (n = 6,762, 92.3% in 95 AFFs). 32% of patients were lost to follow‐up. On regression, patients transplanted at AFF were 33% less likely to be lost to follow‐up compared with those from non‐AFF (OR 0.67 CI 0.54‐0.82, P < 0.01). The proportion of patients lost to follow‐up during the transition period is remarkably high, but lower among recipients transplanted at AFFs. Poor follow‐up may be mitigated by improving integration of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver transplantation (LT) provides better outcome than surgical resection (SR) although both are acceptable surgical options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is unclear whether non-clinical factors drive treatment decisions. Our goal is to identify factors that may affect treatment decisions. Patients aged 18–74 with T2 HCC undergoing either LT or SR in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database from 2004 to 2014 were included. Healthcare resources data were analyzed to assess factors that predict utilization of LT versus SR, adjusted for demographic, clinical outcomes, and socioeconomic factors. 51% of patients (Total N = 2616) received LT, with a substantial state-level variation in LT rates (0.0%–66.9%). Higher LT center density [OR = 1.04 per 1% increment, P < 0.01], male gender (OR = 1.38, P = 0.02), and numbers of potential donors (OR = 1.19, P = 0.03) were positively associated with LT utilization. Conversely, higher incidence of chronic liver disease/cirrhosis (OR = 0.41 per one additional case per 100,000 populations, P = 0.001) and minority populations were negatively correlated with LT utilization. Notably, short-term surgical outcomes (in-hospital LT & SR mortality) were not associated with LT utilization. Liver transplant center density and organ availability, but not surgical outcomes, affect utilization of LT. Future studies should focus on increasing availability of resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]