HIV-Positive Organ Transplants Now Allowed by U.S. Officials for Liver and Kidney

Access to liver and kidney transplants for HIV patients is no longer limited to a clinical research requirement after a ruling by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services removed a barrier to life-saving care.

The rule specifically applies to liver and kidney transplants. It’s based on research done by the National Institutes of Health through the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, which found transplantation is safe and feasible from a deceased HIV organ donor to an HIV recipient with end-stage kidney disease. According to the NIH, people living with HIV are susceptible to end-stage kidney disease and are nearly three times more likely to die while on kidney dialysis than people without HIV.

The study enrolled nearly 200 HIV-positive adults with end-stage kidney disease who received kidney transplants at 26 centers throughout the United States. The transplant surgeries happened between 2018 and 2021, and compared 99 participants who had HIV-positive donors with 99 participants who had donors without HIV. Miami Transplant Institute (MTI) is one of the HOPE Act centers that contributed to the research. The results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in October.

Dr. Adela Mattiazzi, transplant nephrologist and medical director of kidney transplant at MTI, and Dr. Michele Morris, an infectious disease specialist at Jackson Memorial Hospital, are some of the doctors who participated in the HOPE Act study.

“We’re proud to be part of the scientific community that has led to HIV-positive organ donor transplants now being the standard of care in the U.S.,” Dr. Mattiazzi said.

MTI, an affiliation between Jackson Health System and UHealth – University of Miami Health System, is one of the nation’s leaders in transplant surgery for all organ groups. To learn more about what MTI can offer or to refer a patient, click here.