key: cord-0706410-nnecgz5z authors: Doshi, Mona D.; Tsapepas, Demetra; Prashar, Rohini; Mohan, Sumit; Edusei, Emmanuel; Aull, Meredith J.; Sherman, Eric; Dadhania, Darshana M. title: COVID‐19 infection in former living kidney donors date: 2021-02-11 journal: Clin Transplant DOI: 10.1111/ctr.14230 sha: 3c6751b4890a15313998a0942067d3cb8f891b6b doc_id: 706410 cord_uid: nnecgz5z The COVID‐19 pandemic brought living donor kidney transplant programs across the United States to a near halt in March 2020. As programs have begun to reopen, potential donor candidates often inquire about their risk of a COVID‐19 infection and its potential impact on kidney function after donation. To address their concerns, we surveyed 1740 former live kidney donors at four transplant centers located in New York and Michigan. Of these, 839 (48.2%) donors responded, their mean age was 46 ± 12.5 years, 543 (65%) were females, and 611 (73%) were white. Ninety‐two donors (11%) had symptoms suggestive of a COVID‐19 infection with fever (48%) and fatigue (43%) being the most common. Among those with symptoms, 42 donors underwent testing and 16 tested positive. Testing was more common among donors with private insurance, and a positive test result was more common among young black donors. Only one donor surveyed required hospitalization and none required dialysis. Fourteen donors have recovered completely and two partially. Our survey highlights that a COVID‐19 infection in former donors results in a mild disease with good recovery. These data will be useful for transplant programs to counsel living donors who are considering kidney donation during this pandemic. underwent testing and 16 tested positive. Testing was more common among donors with private insurance, and a positive test result was more common among young black donors. Only one donor surveyed required hospitalization and none required dialysis. Fourteen donors have recovered completely and two partially. Our survey highlights that a COVID-19 infection in former donors results in a mild disease with good recovery. These data will be useful for transplant programs to counsel living donors who are considering kidney donation during this pandemic. COVID-19, infection, living kidney donors, outcomes 2 of 5 | DOSHI et al. Surgeons have put forth recommendations to guide programs to safely resume LDKT. 4, 5 The recommendations include testing and self-quarantining to ensure that neither the donor nor the recipient has asymptomatic COVID-19 infection at the time of transplant surgery. However, currently there is no guidance available on how potential donors should be counseled on their future risk of infection with COVID-19 and its potential implications on their renal function after donor nephrectomy. Not surprisingly, these questions are being raised by prospective donors especially given the evidence of risk among individuals with reduced kidney function. [6] [7] [8] [9] The living donor evaluation includes extensive medical testing prior to donation resulting in a donor pool with relatively few comorbidities, if any, and therefore, former donors should not be at higher risk for severe infection than general population. However, there are no data to support such counseling. As a result, we surveyed prior donors who had underwent donor nephrectomy at four transplant centers located in the epicenters during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: New York and Michigan. Herein, we report the responses of former donors as it relates to COVID-19 infection, testing, and recovery. All living kidney donors who donated between January 1, 2015, to Ford Hospital who were contacted via phone instead (due to lack of email address). The protocol was approved by the local institutional regulatory board at each site. infection. We also collected information on their education level, medical insurance, and work status. Responses to each survey question were described as percentages or means, as appropriate. To obtain percentages, we divided the number of "yes" responses by the total number of participants who Our study reports that the rate of confirmed COVID-19 infection in former living kidney donors is low, 2%. It is possible that the true infection rate may be higher as over half the donors with symptoms did not get tested (50 out of 92), possibly due to the lack of availability of universal testing early during the pandemic and lack of private insurance. Similar to the general population, fever was the most common presenting feature and diarrhea was less common. 10 This work would not have been possible without the help of the living donor coordinators at each of the transplant center. None. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Early impact of COVID-19 on transplant center practices and policies in the United States Survey of U.S. living kidney donation and transplant practices in the COVID-19 era 2019-nCoV (Coronavirus): Recommendations and Guidance for Organ Donor Testing Re-engaging Organ Transplantation in the COVID-19 Era Acute kidney injury in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 Characteristics of acute kidney injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in an urban academic medical center Incidence and risk factors for acute kidney injury and its effect on mortality in patients hospitalized from Covid-19 Living organ donor perspectives on organ donation during the COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 diagnosis and management: a comprehensive review Changing age distribution of the COVID-19 pandemic -United States Assessing differential impacts of COVID-19 on black communities Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section.