Offer acceptance practices and geographic variability in allocation model for end-stage liver disease at transplant

Offer acceptance practices may cause geographic variability in allocation Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (aMELD) score at transplant and could magnify the effect of donor supply and demand on aMELD variability. To evaluate these issues, offer acceptance practices of liver transplant programs and donation service areas (DSAs) were estimated using offers of livers from donors recovered between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016. Offer acceptance practices were compared with liver yield, local placement of transplanted livers, donor supply and demand, and aMELD at transplant. Offer acceptance was associated with liver yield (odds ratio, 1.32; P < 0.001), local placement of transplanted livers (odds ratio, 1.34; P < 0.001), and aMELD at transplant (average aMELD difference, -1.62; P < 0.001). However, the ratio of donated livers to listed candidates in a DSA (ie, donor-to-candidate ratio) was associated with median aMELD at transplant (r = -0.45; P < 0.001), but not with offer acceptance (r = 0.09; P = 0.50). Additionally, the association between DSA-level donor-to-candidate ratios and aMELD at transplant did not change after adjustment for offer acceptance. The average squared difference in median aMELD at transplant across DSAs was 24.6; removing the effect of donor-to-candidate ratios reduced the average squared differences more than removing the effect of program-level offer acceptance (33% and 15% reduction, respectively). Offer acceptance practices and donor-to-candidate ratios independently contributed to geographic variability in aMELD at transplant. Thus, neither offer acceptance nor donor-to-candidate ratios can explain all of the geographic variability in aMELD at transplant. Liver Transplantation 24 478-487 2018 AASLD.

Early steps to kidney transplantation among persons with HIV and end-stage renal disease in ESRD network 6

INTRODUCTION

End-stage renal disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with HIV (PWH). Limited data exist on access to kidney transplantation for this population.

METHODS

A dataset inclusive of incident dialysis patients between 2012 and 2016 with follow-up through December 2017 that identifies PWH and the general dialysis population of Network 6 (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina) was created through merging the United States Renal Data System with the southeastern early transplant access registry. Early steps to kidney transplantation and patient and dialysis facility-level characteristics that serve as barriers to transplantation were described.

RESULTS

Twenty-three thousand four hundred fourteen patients were identified; 469 were PWH. Compared to non-HIV individuals, PWH were younger (49 vs. 58 years, p < 0.001), predominantly Black (87% vs. 56% p < 0.001) and male (72% vs. 56% p < 0.001). PWH were less likely to be referred to kidney transplant within 1 year of starting dialysis (36% vs. 41% p < 0.001) and waitlisted within 1 year of evaluation-start (14% vs. 30%, p = 0.05). PWH (vs. non-PWH) waited longer for referral, evaluation-start, and waitlisting and in multivariable analysis; HIV positivity was associated with a lower probability of referral (hazard ratios [HR]: 0.70; 95% confidence intervals [CIs]: 0.62-0.80), evaluation (HR 0.66; 95% CI: 0.55-0.80), and waitlisting (HR 0.29; 95% CI: 0.20-0.41).

CONCLUSIONS

Targeted interventions are needed to improve access to kidney transplants, particularly in waitlisting, for PWH.

Estimated Median Waiting Time for Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Human Immunodeficiency Virus Organ Policy Equity Act Variance Kidney Candidates: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis

BACKGROUND

Prior to the 2013 HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, which enabled research on the transplantation of solid organs from donors with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to candidates living with HIV, it was prohibited for HIV+ individuals to donate organs in the United States. In 2015, alongside the release of HOPE Act research criteria, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) made organ allocation policy and system changes to allow HIV+ to HIV+ transplantation.

METHODS

The OPTN database was queried for all adult kidney registrations ever waiting from November 23, 2015, to December 31, 2022; the cohort was split into a HOPE cohort (ever willing to accept an HIV+ kidney) and a non-HOPE cohort (all remaining). Estimated median waiting times (eMWTs) were calculated using a period prevalent Kaplan-Meier approach; HOPE registrations were matched 1:5 without replacement to non-HOPE registrations using a logistic regression propensity score.

RESULTS

Using all waiting time, the eMWT for the HOPE cohort was significantly lower than the matched non-HOPE cohort (3.04 years [95% confidence interval {CI}: 2.70, 3.41] versus 5.88 years [95% CI: 5.65, 6.18]). This trend persisted when estimating MWT using other active time and geographical definitions (ignoring geography and donor service area).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that transplantation through the OPTN HOPE variance yields decreases eMWT, perhaps reducing the medium and longer-term impacts of living with HIV.

Ensuring equity in psychosocial risk assessment for solid organ transplantation: a review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review summarizes the different instruments for evaluating the psychosocial health of transplant candidates, the evidence demonstrating how these instruments relate to probability of transplant waitlisting and transplant outcomes, and the critical knowledge gaps that exist in the causal pathway between psychosocial health and clinical transplant trajectory.

RECENT FINDINGS

The current literature reveals that psychosocial assessments are a common reason for racial and ethnic minorities to be denied access to the transplant list. Given evidence that a lack of clinician consensus exists regarding the definition of, importance of, and reproducibility of psychosocial support evaluations, this facet of the holistic evaluation process may create a unique challenge for already vulnerable patient populations. Though recent evidence shows that psychosocial evaluation scores predict select transplant outcomes, these findings remain inconsistent.

SUMMARY

Multiple instruments for psychosocial transplant evaluation exist, though the utility of these instruments remains uncertain. As equity becomes an increasingly urgent priority for the transplant system, rigorous interrogation of the causal pathway between psychosocial health and transplant longevity is still needed.