Study Reveals Kidney Transplant With Positive HIV Donor Proven Safe

Illustration of kidney transplant in HIV patients ((ANTARA/HO RSUP Haji Adam Malik)

JAKARTA - Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 shows that kidney transplant procedures from positive HIV donors who have died can be carried out safely.

Reported by the Hindustan Times, the study monitored 198 kidney transplant procedures in the United States. The results show that there is no significant difference in the successful transplant, both the kidneys come from donors with HIV and without HIV.

This study involved participants who tested positive for HIV and experienced kidney failure. They are willing to receive a kidney from a positive or negative HIV donor, depending on the availability of the organ.

Researchers monitored kidney recipients up to four years after transplant. Half of participants received a kidney from a positive HIV donor, while the rest got a kidney from a donor without HIV. The results reveal survival rates in both groups are high, and organ rejection rates are low.

A total of 13 patients in the group receiving positive HIV donors experienced an increase in virus levels, compared to four patients in other groups. The cases of increase are mostly related to the patient's non-compliance with taking HIV drugs consistently. However, all these cases were successfully controlled until the virus levels returned to very low or undetected.

"This proves that transplantation with positive HIV donors is safe and provides excellent results," said Dr. Dorry Segev of NYU Langone Health, co-author of the study.

According to Carrie Foote, a professor of sociology from Indiana University in Indianapolis, there are still many stigmas and outdated policies that have hampered people with HIV from becoming organ donors.

"This step is not only beneficial for those who live with HIV, but can also expand organ access, so recipients without HIV can get organs faster," explains Foote, who also lives with HIV and is a registered organ donor.

In an editorial in the journal, Dr. Elmi Muller from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, estimates that this research will open up opportunities for many countries to start implementing transplants from positive HIV donors.

"This is an important step in realizing justice and equality for people living with HIV," wrote Muller, who has spearheaded the organ transplant practice of a positive HIV donor in his country.