The impact of using hepatitis c virus nucleic acid test-positive donor hearts on heart transplant waitlist time and transplant rate.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that direct-acting anti-virals (DAAs) for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection permits the transplantation of HCV-viremic donor organs in uninfected recipients. This opportunity may expand the donor pool. We assessed the impact of using HCV nucleic acid test-positive (NAT+) donor hearts on heart transplant (HTx) waitlist time and transplant rate.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 156 patients who were listed for HTx from October 2015 through October 2018. Patients were stratified into 2 periods centered on April 27, 2017, when the protocol to accept HCV NAT+ donor organs for transplantation in non-HCV-infected recipients began, Period 1 (October 27, 2015 to April 26, 2017) and Period 2 (April 27, 2017 to October 26, 2018).

RESULTS: In Period 1, 57 of the 71 patients on the HTx waitlist were transplanted, whereas in Period 2, 57 of the 85 patients were transplanted. The median waitlist time to transplant decreased from 63.1 days in Period 1 to 34.1 days in Period 2 (p = 0.002). The transplant rate increased from 168.2 per 100 patient-years in Period 1 to 280.0 per 100 patient-years in Period 2 (incidence rate ratio 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.3; p = 0.006). Waitlist mortality rate, hospital stay post-transplantation, and post-transplant mortality did not differ significantly between the time periods. Nineteen patients received HCV NAT+ donor hearts. The short-term post-transplant outcomes were similar between the recipients who received HCV NAT+ and HCV NAT- donor hearts.

CONCLUSIONS: This single-center retrospective analysis suggests that the use of HCV NAT+ donor hearts may result in a reduced HTx waitlist time and an increased transplant rate. In addition, transplanting HCV NAT+ donor hearts into non-HCV-infected recipients, followed by DAAs, can provide acceptable short-term post-transplant outcomes.