Kidney transplantation from hepatitis B surface antigen-positive donors into hepatitis B surface antigen-positive recipients: preliminary findings.
BACKGROUND
The success of renal transplantation as a treatment for end-stage renal disease has created a chronic shortage of donor organs. We present our initial experience in transplanting kidneys from hepatitis B surface antigen (HbsAg)-positive donors into HbsAg-positive recipients.


METHODS
From January 2002 to March 2004, 5 patients with end-stage renal disease, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and HbsAg seropositivity underwent a kidney transplantation from a cadaveric HbsAg-positive donor. The median time on the waiting list was 8 months, compared with the median of 3 years on the national waiting list.


RESULTS
One patient experienced an acute rejection; 1 patient had an increase in serum level of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) with no signs of recurrence of hepatitis. Graft and patient survival at a median follow-up of 12 months was 100%.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the number of patients is small and the follow-up is short, our results suggest that HbsAg-positive donors can be considered as an alternative donor source because their kidneys are allocated to the matched serology-positive recipients, shortening their time on the waiting list.
Veroux
M
M
Department of Surgery, Transplantation and Advanced Technologies, Organ Transplant Unit, University Hospital, Catania, Italy. veroux@unict.it
Puliatti
C
C
Macarone
M
M
Cappello
D
D
Gagliano
M
M
Spataro
M
M
Di Mare
M
M
Giuffrida
G
G
Veroux
P
P
D000328:Adult; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens