Introduction: COVID-19 is a viral infectious disease that affects more than 200 countries in the world and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This article provides some strategies for the management of the organ transplant unit in the COVID-19 outbreak or other respiratory infections.
Materials and Methods: Organ transplantation clinics, services or intensive care units are potential sources of transmission during this pandemic. Therefore, it is imperative for hospitals and organ transplant centers to organize management strategies for organ transplant patients during the COVID-19 outbreak. The study shared our special precautions and protocols created by a clinic that conducts over 1300 liver and 1500 kidney transplants.
Results: Five live donor liver transplants were performed in our clinic. A total of 8 patients are in our service and in
the intensive care unit. Two patients who underwent live donor liver transplantation stay in the intensive care unit, and 2 patients with Post-op 2 donor and transplant preparation. COVID-19 infection was not detected in patients who underwent live donor solid organ transplantation and were followed up in our service.
Conclusion: It is important to have the arrangement to prevent and control the transmission of COVID-19 and to manage the organ transplant clinic during this period. A method that can protect both the hospital staff and the medical team and patients should be determined. Liver transplantation with live donors increases donor risk; on the other hand, it also provides important advantages such as planning the operation time, insulating the transmitter, and providing sufficient and repeated tests. We think that we performed liver transplantation in the safest possible environment by following the guidelines adopted in our clinic.
Key words: Organ transplant, acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus, pandemia
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