A call to routinely test lower respiratory tract samples for SARS-CoV-2 in lung donors.

SARS-CoV-2 may be transmissible from organ donor to recipient, although only a single lung transplant case has been reported (1). The American Society of Transplantation (AST) has recommended deceased donor screening for SARS-CoV-2 with upper respiratory tract sampling for nucleic acid testing (NAT) within 72 hours of procurement (2, 3). Lower respiratory tract samples are recommended when feasible, although this practice is not consistent across OPOs. This is likely because current NAT assays are not validated for lower respiratory tract samples.