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. 2021 Jun;21(6):2100-2112.
doi: 10.1111/ajt.16411. Epub 2020 Dec 16.

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial impacts and responses of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network in the United States

Rebecca R Goff  1 , Amber R Wilk  1 , Alice E Toll  1 , Maureen A McBride  2 , David K Klassen  3
Affiliations

Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial impacts and responses of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network in the United States

Rebecca R Goff et al. Am J Transplant. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

COVID-19 has been sweeping the globe, hitting the United States particularly hard with a state of emergency declared on March 13, 2020. Transplant hospitals have taken various precautions to protect patients from potential exposure. OPTN donor, candidate, and transplant data were analyzed from January 5, 2020 to September 5, 2020. The number of new waiting list registrations decreased, with the Northeast seeing over a 50% decrease from the week of 3/8 versus the week of 4/5. The national transplant system saw near cessation of living donor transplantation (-90%) from the week of 3/8 to the week of 4/5. Similarly, deceased donor kidney transplant volume dropped from 367 to 202 (-45%), and other organs saw similar decreases: lung (-70%), heart (-43%), and liver (-37%). Deceased donors recovered dropped from 260 to 163 (-45%) from 3/8 compared to 4/5, including a 67% decrease for lungs recovered. The magnitude of this decrease varied by geographic area, with the largest percent change (-67%) in the Northeast. Despite the pandemic, discard rates across organ has remained stable. Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, OPTN data show recent evidence of stabilization, an indication that an early recovery of the number of living and deceased donors and transplants has ensued.

Keywords: Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN); donors and donation: deceased; donors and donation: living; ethics and public policy; infection and infectious agents - viral; infectious disease; organ procurement; organ procurement and allocation; organ transplantation in general.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
New waiting list registrations by week and organ from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
New waiting list registrations by week and geographic area from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Volume of Inactivations by COVID-19 precautions or another reason from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Volume of deceased donor recovered nationally by week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Cause of death for deceased donors by week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Volume of deceased donor organs recovered by organ and week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Number of deceased donors recovered by week and geographic area from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Number of deceased donor transplants by organ and week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Deceased donor transplant volume by geographic area and week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 10
FIGURE 10
Heart, Liver, and Lung transplant recipient medical urgency status by week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 11
FIGURE 11
Kidney transplant recipient CPRA (%) group by week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 12
FIGURE 12
Distance between the donor hospital and transplant program by organ and time period [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 13
FIGURE 13
Number of living donor transplants by organ and week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 14
FIGURE 14
Number of living donor transplants by geographic area and week from 1/5/20 to 9/5/20 [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rolling updates on coronavirus disease (COVID-19). https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-a.... Accessed April 9, 2020
    1. Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-declaring-n.... Accessed April 9, 2020
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