Indian Transplant Newsletter. Vol.19 Issue No.59. March 2020 - June 2020
Print ISSN 0972 - 1568




Reduction in transplants in France and USA during COVID-19 outbreak

Transplant centres in France and USA saw a huge reduction in deceased donor transplants because of the COVID-19 outbreak. By early April the number of transplants dropped by 91 percent in France and 50 percent in the USA compared to a month earlier. Experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Paris Transplant Group attributed it to a steep reduction in the number of kidney transplants as well as a drop in the number of heart, lung and liver transplants. A strong link between the surge of COVID-19 infections and this reduction was observed. In the USA, the number of recovered organs dropped from more than 110 a day on March 6 to fewer than 60 per day on April 5. During the same timeframe, the number of transplanted kidneys dropped from nearly 65 a day to about 35 per day. France may have experienced a larger drop in transplants because of a coordinated national effort to reduce clinical activity, whereas in the USA individual states had discretion to impose restrictions and hospital practice may have varied to a greater degree. One of the co-authors of this study that appeared in The Lancet said that international comparisons were important because transplant systems that developed best practices could then share them with other countries.


How to cite this article:
- Shroff S, Navin S. Reduction in transplants in France and USA during COVID-19 outbreak. Indian Transplant Newsletter. Vol.19 Issue No.59. March 2020 - June 2020

How to cite this URL:
- Shroff S, Navin S. Reduction in transplants in France and USA during COVID-19 outbreak. Indian Transplant Newsletter. Vol.19 Issue No.59. March 2020 - June 2020 . Available at:
https://www.itnnews.co.in/indian-transplant-newsletter/issue59/Reduction-in-transplants-in-France-and-USA-during-COVID-19-outbreak-1046.htm