Scientists assess the safety of organs of people who have been infected with COVID-19

Reuters news agency (UK) on March 24 said that American and Italian scientists will announce this information at the European Conference of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) held in April in Portugal. Portugal.

Evidence shows that organs donated from people with COVID-19 are safe, and organs from donors with COVID-19 can be considered if they are asymptomatic or die of unrelated causes. regarding COVID-19.

Dr Cameron Wolfe and Emily Eichenberger at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina (USA) plan to advise that a transplanted lung or intestine should only be used when the donor is positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 20 days before. Meanwhile, other organs can be safely transplanted if the donor doesn’t die from COVID-19 or develop a severe blood clot.

Since September 2021, Duke University Medical Center has been evaluating organs donated from people who have had COVID-19. Results showed that 46 days after the surgery, the organ transplant recipients did not get COVID-19 from the process and the medical staff who treated them did not have COVID-19 either.

Professor Paolo Grossi of the University of Insubria (Italy) and colleagues performed heart, kidney and liver transplants from organ donors who were positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Mr. Grossi commented: “By 2022, the transplant community will be more knowledgeable about the use of organs from donors who have had or are currently suffering from COVID-19.”. The professor also cautions that although the published data are encouraging, the safety of organ donors who have died of COVID-19 or have had COVID-19 has not been proven. because of the small size of the published study.

Professor Grossi concluded: “We believe that organs from donors who have had or are currently infected with COVID-19 can be safe for recipients who are immune to the SARS-CoV-2 virus from vaccination or have had this disease.”