Heart transplantation from COVID-positive donors with 6-month follow-up: A case series

Abstract

Background: Data on long term outcomes in heart transplant recipients from Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive donors are limited.

Methods and results: We present a series of nine patients who underwent heart transplants from COVID-19 PCR-positive donors between November 2021 to August 2022 with mean follow-up of 12.12 ± 3 months. All the recipients received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine and had at least 6 months follow-up. Eight recipients had acceptable long-term outcomes; one patient died during index admission from primary graft dysfunction. Details regarding donor and recipient characteristics, management and outcomes are provided. Two patients developed deep vein thrombosis, and one patient underwent pacemaker implantation for sinus node dysfunction. Among the surviving eight patients, none developed COVID-19 infection during follow-up period. There was no significant difference in outcome parameters when compared to patients who received hearts from donors who tested negative for COVID-19 during the same time period at our center.

Conclusion: Keeping in mind the significant waitlist mortality in patients awaiting heart transplantation, COVID-19-positive donors should be considered for heart transplantation to help expand the donor pool and potentially reduce waitlist mortality.

Keywords: COVID-19-positive donors; heart transplantation; transplantation outcomes.