Donors With Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Positivity

Abstract Objective There is a still controversy among transplantation centers regarding acceptance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)–positive donors for renal transplantation. However, some reports show that these donors can be used under a special protocol. In this study, we compared the clinical and biochemical parameters of patients who received kidneys from HBsAg-positive (group 1) versus other living-related kidney donors (group 2). Materials and Methods We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 2168 living-related renal transplantations performed between December 2008 and April 2014 at Medical Park Hospital Transplantation Center, Antalya, Turkey. One hundred eleven donors were HbsAg-positive (group 1), and 2057 donors were HbsAg-negative (group 2). Group 1 kidney transplantations were undertaken only if the recipient displayed a hepatitis B antibody titer >10 mIU/mL and donor hepatitis B virus DNA was negative. Results Demographic characteristics; 1-, 2- and 4-year serum creatinine levels; glomerular filtration rates; and liver function test results were similar between the two groups. There were no new hepatitis B virus infections throughout the study period. Acute rejection rates (26/111 in group 1 vs 375/2168 in group 2; P  = .887), graft loss (4/111 in group 1 vs 123/2168 in group 2; P  = .546), and patient loss (6/111 in group 1 vs 102/2168; P  = .132) were similar between the two groups. Conclusion Our study showed that hepatitis B surface antigen positivity was not a contraindication to living-kidney donation.