According to a new analysis that includes data from the first 84 Covid-positive donor heart transplant recipients in the US, donor hearts from people who were Covid-positive appeared to be as safe for transplantation as those from people without the infection.

The analysis found that both groups of donor organ recipients had similar rates of mortality in the hospital and during the recovery time of 30 days after transplantation. The analysis also showed similar rates of complications such as graft failure and lung complications.

The findings of the analysis showed that the average hospital stay for those receiving a COVID-positive donor heart was 15 days, in comparison to 17 days for patients receiving a heart from a donor without a respiratory infection. Additionally, 2.4% of rejection was observed in the recipients from Covid-positive donors, compared to 1% of the others.

The researchers revealed that 96.1% of people who received hearts from COVID-19-positive donors survived the first 30 days, compared to 97% of those who received hearts from donors without the virus. They claimed that among the four patients who died after receiving a heart from a COVID-positive donor, none died from respiratory causes or infections. 

(Source: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1015027)