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A New Chapter In An Evolving Pandemic: Successful Pediatric Liver Transplantation With Covid+ Donors

M. B. Goss1, F. Munoz2, E. A. Moulton3, S. Pouch4, S. Koohmaraie5, N. Moreno1, J. Goss3, N. Galvan3

1McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, 2Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, 3Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 4Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA, 5Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX

Meeting: 2022 American Transplant Congress

Abstract number: 9039

Keywords: COVID-19, Liver transplantation, Organ Selection/Allocation, Pediatric

Topic: Clinical Science » Liver » 59 - Liver: Expanding the Donor Pool* (Liver: MELD Allocation / Donor Issues)

Session Information

Session Name: Liver: Expanding the Donor Pool* (Liver: MELD Allocation / Donor Issues)

Session Type: Poster Abstract

Date: Saturday, June 4, 2022

Session Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm

 Presentation Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm

Location: Hynes Halls C & D

*Purpose: We report the first two pediatric liver transplants utilizing allografts from COVID+ donors, infected at time of organ procurement, demonstrating a pivotal step toward donor pool maximization amid a viral pandemic with poorly understood transmissibility in the pediatric patient.

*Methods: This is a prospective and retrospective review of two pediatric liver transplants and their donors who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at time of procurement. Data was obtained through the electronic medical record system and UNet DonorNet platform.

*Results: The first donor is a 3-year-old male succumbing to head trauma. 1 of 5 nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR tests demonstrated COVID-19 positivity while 1 of 3 bronchoalveolar lavage RT-PCR tests indicated SARS-CoV-2 infection. Preceding procurement in the second donor, a 16-month-old male with unknown etiology of cardiorespiratory arrest, 2 nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR tests and 1 bronchoalveolar lavage RT-PCR test failed to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection. Diagnosis was not made until the Medical Examiner’s office repeated a nasopharyngeal swab RT-PCR and archive plasma RT-PCR which were both positive for SARS-CoV-2. The two 2-year-old pediatric liver recipients underwent transplantation in November 2021. Continued follow-up demonstrates successful transplant void of viral transmission or hepatic artery thrombosis as liver chemistries have anticipatorily normalized with excellent graft function. One recipient experienced early portal vein thrombosis treated by interventional radiology with discharge on postoperative day 20.

*Conclusions: This report is the first to describe successful pediatric liver transplants from COVID+ donors. This data reinforces case reports in the adult transplant population of successful use of COVID + donor organs and further supports the judicious use of COVID+ donors for extrapulmonary pediatric organ transplant. The concern for donor-derived transmission must now be weighed against the realized benefit of successful, life-saving transplantation for end stage liver disease in the pediatric patient.

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To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Goss MB, Munoz F, Moulton EA, Pouch S, Koohmaraie S, Moreno N, Goss J, Galvan N. A New Chapter In An Evolving Pandemic: Successful Pediatric Liver Transplantation With Covid+ Donors [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2022; 22 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/a-new-chapter-in-an-evolving-pandemic-successful-pediatric-liver-transplantation-with-covid-donors/. Accessed May 8, 2025.

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