Impact of COVID-19 on the number of transplants performed in Brazil during the pandemic. Current situation

Abstract

The intense use of resources to combat COVID-19 causes concern in the entire transplant community because, in addition to physical limitations such as ICU beds, lack of homogeneous treatment protocols and uncertainties about the effects of immunosuppression on viral progression have significant impact on transplant surgeries. The aim of the present study is to comparatively assess the number of solid organ transplants performed in 2019 and 2020, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organ donation and transplant surgeries in Brazil. The last 10 years have shown increasing trend in the number of solid organ transplants, which have significantly decreased in 2020. Lung transplantations were mostly affected by the pandemic; these surgeries have been carried out only in Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo states. Liver transplantations were the least affected ones, since the number of surgeries have only decreased by 10.8% in the first three quarters of 2020, in comparison to 2019. The number of active patients on the waiting list for heart and kidney transplantation has increased in 2020. Therefore, it is necessary developing strategies to keep the structure necessary for organ transplantation processes active and, consequently, to reduce the impacts of the pandemic on these patients.