New research in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reports that there is virtually no difference in outcomes for patients with HIV who receive a kidney from an HIV-positive donor, as compared with a non-HIV donor. The study followed 198 patients from 2018 to 2021. 26-medical centers participated.
MedicalXpress interviewed Dorry Segev, MD, Ph.D., transplant surgeon and the study's senior investigator, who said: "Our study demonstrates overwhelmingly that kidney transplantation from donors who are HIV positive to HIV-positive recipients is safe and effective." Segev is the vice chair of the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The research found that both 1-year and 3-year survival rates were within 1- or 2- percentage points. From the abstract: "...transplantation from donors with HIV appeared to be noninferior to that from donors without HIV."*