Prophylactic antivirals prevent chronic hepatitis C in patients receiving kidneys from positive donors

Prophylactic treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) prevented chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in 10 patients receiving kidneys from HCV positive deceased donors. This approach has potential to help shorten waiting times on the organ waitlist. A brief research report is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Kidneys from deceased donors with HCV are increasingly available, yet hundreds are discarded annually because of a limited number of HCV-viremic candidates. An innovative strategy of transplanting kidneys from HCV-positive donors to HCV-negative recipients (HCV D+/R-) by using DAAs has shown early success, but the optimal timing and duration of DAA therapy remain unclear.

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