OPTN/SRTR 2021 Annual Data Report: COVID-19

Jonathan M Miller; Yoon Son Ahn; Allyson Hart; Kelsi Lindblad; Courtney Jett; Cole Fox; Ryutaro Hirose; Ajay K Israni; Jon J Snyder

doi:10.1016/j.ajt.2023.02.011

OPTN/SRTR 2021 Annual Data Report: COVID-19

Am J Transplant. 2023 Feb;23(2 Suppl 1):S475-S522. doi: 10.1016/j.ajt.2023.02.011.

Authors

Jonathan M Miller¹, Yoon Son Ahn², Allyson Hart¹, Kelsi Lindblad³, Courtney Jett³, Cole Fox³, Ryutaro Hirose⁴, Ajay K Israni⁵, Jon J Snyder⁵

Affiliations

¹ Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
² Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN.
³ Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, United Network for Organ Sharing, Richmond, VA.
⁴ Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
⁵ Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Abstract

This chapter updates the COVID-19 chapter from the 2020 Annual Data Report with trends through February 12, 2022, and introduces trends in COVID-19-specific cause of death on the waiting list and posttransplant. Transplant rates remain at or above prepandemic levels for all organs, indicating a sustained transplantation system recovery following the initial 3-month disruption due to the onset of the pandemic. Posttransplant mortality and graft failure remain a concern in all organs, with rates surging corresponding to waves of the pandemic. Waitlist mortality due to COVID-19 is also a concern, particularly among kidney candidates. While the recovery of the transplantation system has been sustained in the second year of the pandemic, ongoing efforts should focus on reducing posttransplant and waitlist mortality due to COVID-19, and graft failure.

Keywords: COVID-19; solid organ transplant; transplant outcomes; waitlist mortality.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Graft Survival
Humans
Liver Transplantation*
Lung Transplantation*
Tissue Donors
Tissue and Organ Procurement*
United States / epidemiology
Waiting Lists