Using Donors with False Positive HIV Tests - An Unexpected Benefit of the HOPE Act.

Using Donors with False Positive HIV Tests – An Unexpected Benefit of the HOPE Act.

C. Durand,¹ S. Halpern,¹ G. Bismut,¹ B. Doby,¹ N. Desai,¹ A. Cameron,¹ S. Florman,² S. Lerner,² S. Huprikar,² J. Locke,³ S. Mehta,³ P. Stock,⁴ N. Neidlinger,⁵ D. Brown,¹ B. Haydel,² A. Redd,^1,6 A. Massie,¹ A. Tobian,¹ D. Segev.¹

¹JHU, Baltimore, MD
²Mount Sinai, New York, NY
³UAB, Birmingham, AL
⁴UCSF, San Francisco, CA
⁵Donor Network West, San Ramon, CA
⁶NIH, Bethesda, MD

Meeting: 2017 American Transplant Congress

Abstract number: 457

Keywords: HIV virus, Kidney transplantation, Liver transplantation

Session Information

Session Name: Concurrent Session: Optimizing Donor Utilization: All Organs

Session Type: Concurrent Session

Date: Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Session Time: 2:30pm-4:00pm

Presentation Time: 3:18pm-3:30pm

Location: E353B

Deceased donors are screened for HIV infection using anti-HIV antibody (Ab) and nucleic acid testing (NAT). Historically, organs were discarded in cases of a suspected false positive screen. Organs from donors with false positive HIV tests can now be used for transplants in HIV+ candidates under HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act research protocols.

Methods: HIV false positive donors were deceased with a single positive HIV Ab or NAT test and no history of HIV infection (per medical record and Donor Risk Assessment Interview). HIV+ individuals enrolled in the HOPE in Action trial (NCT02602262) of HIV+ deceased donor transplants were eligible for transplant. HIV realtime qPCR testing (Abbott) was done to confirm all false positive donor cases.

Results: Between May and November 2016, 6 HIV false positive donors were identified. Median donor age was 24 years (range 7-44). Five were male. Three were labelled increased risk for infectious diseases transmission based on the Public Health Service (PHS Risk). Cause of death was trauma (n=3), stroke (n=2) and anoxia (n=1). Four donors were HIV Ab positive/NAT negative and two donors were Ab negative/NAT positive; one positive NAT was a simultaneous screen for HIV/hepatitis B/hepatitis C but was negative for each by discriminatory NAT. HIV realtime PCR testing was negative in all 6. Fifteen HIV+ recipients received organ transplants from these donors (9 single-kidney, 1 double-kidney, 4 livers, 1 simultaneous liver-kidney). Conclusion: The HOPE Act allows for the use of organs from deceased donors with suspected false positive HIV screening tests. This is an unexpected benefit that provides another novel organ source for HIV+ individuals and can help attenuate the national organ shortage.

CITATION INFORMATION: Durand C, Halpern S, Bismut G, Doby B, Desai N, Cameron A, Florman S, Lerner S, Huprikar S, Locke J, Mehta S, Stock P, Neidlinger N, Brown D, Haydel B, Redd A, Massie A, Tobian A, Segev D. Using Donors with False Positive HIV Tests – An Unexpected Benefit of the HOPE Act. Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Durand C, Halpern S, Bismut G, Doby B, Desai N, Cameron A, Florman S, Lerner S, Huprikar S, Locke J, Mehta S, Stock P, Neidlinger N, Brown D, Haydel B, Redd A, Massie A, Tobian A, Segev D. Using Donors with False Positive HIV Tests – An Unexpected Benefit of the HOPE Act. [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2017; 17 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/using-donors-with-false-positive-hiv-tests-an-unexpected-benefit-of-the-hope-act/. Accessed May 9, 2025.

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