COVID-19

All organ donors are tested for an active COVID-19 infection (and a variety of other illnesses and diseases) prior to donation. People who have recovered from COVID-19 and no longer have an active COVID-19 infection can be an organ donor. The OPTN Disease Transmission Advisory Committee has developed donor testing guidance for professionals. The guidance is regularly updated.

While people who have active COVID are not generally considered as donors, in some rare cases, transplants from COVID-positive donors have been performed. These have taken place in limited numbers and on a case-by-case basis after careful assessment of the risks and benefits by clinicians and potential recipients.

Long COVID is a variety of symptoms that persist following resolution of an active COVID infection.  Long COVID is not an active COVID infection.

As with all potential donors, following thorough testing, if the organs from a deceased donor who experienced long COVID are found to be suitable for transplant, they can be considered for transplantation on a case-by-case basis.

Most programs have fully resumed doing living donor transplants after initially postponing them. Your transplant team is best able to advise you on their current status. However, the recent surge in COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron variant has the potential to impact the ability of some programs to do living donor transplants.

Earlier in the pandemic, some transplant programs temporarily postponed some or all living donor transplants. This was partly due to the availability of resources in the hospital and partly to minimize the potential risk of exposure to the virus.

There are a variety of treatments available for COVID-19, including pre-exposure medication (specifically for immunosuppressed individuals) as well as monoclonal antibody treatment specified for use against the Omicron variant. The most appropriate treatments continue to evolve and should be evaluated by the patient and their provider on a case-by-case basis.

If you have specific questions about these or other treatments, we encourage you to contact your healthcare provider to determine if any of them are right for you.

Each program is making decisions based on the availability of staff to help you and their assessment of the risk to patients by continuing these services in the short term. In some cases, programs are temporarily postponing some services or making new arrangements (such as telemedicine appointments) in the interest of patient safety.

Your transplant team is the best source of information regarding their current schedule and arrangements. Keep in mind that they may continue to be adjusting them to meet new needs. If you have a scheduled appointment or procedure, you may wish to contact them in advance to see if anything has changed.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network has temporarily changed policy requirements for transplant programs. If the program cannot perform a test because of COVID-19, or if it believes doing a test right now would expose patients to unnecessary risk, the program may instead submit the most current results available for you. Doing so will not affect your current listing status.

This is a temporary measure. Once testing can be performed routinely nationwide, programs will be expected to resume their normal schedule. Transplant programs have autonomy in their medical judgment regarding patients they have listed. Therefore, a transplant program may, ultimately, choose to inactivate patients who have outdated testing.

Some transplant programs, using their medical judgment, are determining it is best not to currently accept organ offers for some transplant candidates. This is based on the relative risk of your potential exposure to the virus during and soon after surgery as compared to your current level of urgency for a transplant.

A temporary inactivation does not mean that you are removed from the waiting list. It means that for a period of time determined by the transplant program, you would not be considered for organ offers. The transplant program may reactivate you at any time they believe they can resume transplanting patients as usual.

If you are awaiting a kidney and/or pancreas transplant, or if you have a child younger than age 12 needing a lung transplant, the priority you accrue based on waiting time will continue as long as you remain inactive. When you are reactivated you will keep all the waiting time you have gained.

If you need a different organ type, or you are a lung candidate older than age 12, you only accrue waiting time while you are in an active listing category. In this case, your transplant program may temporarily change the criteria for organ offers you might receive. That will allow you to remain active and continue to gain waiting time. You would, however, not be considered for organ offers until the program resets the criteria.

Your transplant program can discuss with you your current status and any conditions where they believe it is best to not accept organ offers for you for a limited time.

In general, you should follow current medical recommendations for masking and social distancing. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is continually updating its COVID-19 resource page with guidance and information. If you have specific questions about contact, your friend or loved one’s transplant team may offer more guidance.

Keep in mind that all transplant recipients take medicine to prevent organ rejection. That same medication may lower their normal immune response to common illnesses. People who have recently had an organ transplant often are on higher doses of these medications and must take additional precautions to lower their risk of infection.

Even if you are unable to visit them close and in person, you can continue to show your support and caring by sending them a card or gift, a call or video chat, or supporting them on social media.