key: cord-0977091-veuqd0x5
authors: Lee, Juhan; Huh, Kyu Ha
title: Kidney transplantation trends in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic
date: 2020-06-20
journal: Kidney Int
DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2020.05.044
sha: 72d1e97d8cd6fa2cb0078e1ebaa8fe85ea15484c
doc_id: 977091
cord_uid: veuqd0x5

nan

Furthermore, some preliminary reports suggest the reduced immune response due to immunosuppression may provide a protective effect against severe COVID-19 disease. 3 South Korea was one of the earliest countries to experience the COVID-19 outbreak quickly becoming the country with the second highest number of COVID-19 infections after China.

In response, South Korea carried out extensive virus testing and contact tracing. In cooperation with national-level efforts, most transplant programs adopted universal donor and recipient screening using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, in accordance with the Korean Transplantation Society recommendation. Thus, national kidney transplant activities in South Korea remained stable for both living and deceased donor transplantation compared to the same period during the previous year (Table 1) .

During these unprecedented times, little is known about the safety of kidney transplantation.

However, delaying or halting of kidney transplantation is not a safe option for patients with end-stage renal disease. Because they still require lifesaving dialysis during the pandemic, these vulnerable patients are unable to practice social distancing and must travel to dialysis facilities. 4 Therefore, we should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of pursuing or postponing kidney transplantation, considering immediate medical circumstances. 

COVID-19 infection in kidney transplant recipients

Accessed May 11, 2020. 2. The Columbia University Kidney Transplant Program. Early Description of Coronavirus 2019 Disease in Kidney Transplant Recipients

Coronaviruses and immunosuppressed patients. The facts during the third epidemic

Managing the COVID-19 pandemic