NYMC Faculty Publications

Impact of COVID-19 on Living Donor Liver and Kidney Transplantation Programs in Japan in 2020

Kaori Kuramitsu, Department of Surgery, Division of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Hyogo, Japan.
Shigeyoshi Yamanaga, Department of Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Ryosuke Osawa, Department of Infectious Disease, Kameda Medical Center, Chiba, Japan.
Taizo Hibi, Department of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Mikiko Yoshikawa, Department of Transplant and Regenerative Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Mariko Toyoda, Department of Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Keita Shimata, Department of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan.
Ebisu Yosuke, Department of Infectious Disease, Kameda Medical Center, Chiba, Japan.
Minoru Ono, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Takashi Kenmochi, Department of Transplantation, Fujita Health University, Aichi, Japan.
Hiroshi Sogawa, Department of Surgery, Westchester Medical Center/New York Medical College, New York, USA.
Yoichiro Natori, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Miami, Florida, USA.
Harumi Yano, Department of Public Health, International University of Health and Welfare, Chiba, Japan.
Toyofumi Chen-Yoshikawa, Department of Thoratic Surgery, Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan.
Kazunari Yoshida, Department of Organ Transplant Medicine, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan.
Takumi Fukumoto, Department of Surgery, Division of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Hyogo, Japan.
Kenji Yuzawa, Department of Transplant Surgery, Mito Medical Center, Ibaraki, Japan.
Hiroto Egawa, Department of Surgery, Institute of Gastroenterology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.

Author Type(s)

Faculty

Journal Title

Transplant Infectious Disease

First Page

e13845

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2022

Department

Surgery

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although many transplant programs have been forced to suspend living donor transplants due to the emergence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there are relatively few real-time databases to assess center-level transplant activities. We aimed to delineate the actual impact of COVID-19 on living donor transplant programs and the resumption process in Japan. METHODS: In a nationwide survey, questionnaires were sent to 32 liver transplant programs that had performed at least more than one case of living donor liver transplantation in 2019 and 132 kidney transplant programs that had performed more than one living donor kidney transplantation in 2018. RESULTS: Thirty-one (96.9%) and 125 (94.7%) liver and kidney transplant programs responded, respectively. In the early pandemic period, 67.7% (21/31) of liver programs and 29.8% (37/125) of kidney programs were able to maintain transplant activities similar to those during the pre-pandemic period. After temporal suspension, 58.1% of kidney programs resumed their transplant activity after the number of local COVID-19 cases peaked. Establishing institutional COVID-19 screening, triage, and therapeutic management protocols was mandatory to resume transplant activity for 64.5% and 67.7% of liver and kidney programs, respectively. In the future wave of COVID-19, 67.7% of liver programs would be affected by institutional COVID-19 intensive care unit-bound patient numbers, and 55.7% of kidney programs would stop if hospital-acquired severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection spreads. CONCLUSIONS: THIS NATIONWIDE SURVEY REVEALED FOR THE FIRST TIME HOW LIVING DONOR LIVER AND KIDNEY: transplant programs changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a country where living donor transplantations are predominant.

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