Policies and practice of solid organ donation amongst people living with HIV in Canada: time for education and re-evaluation

Abstract

The numbers of organ donors in Canada and the USA fall short of increasing demand, resulting in increased morbidity, poor health outcomes, higher medical costs and death of many individuals waitlisted for transplantation. In the US, since 2013 when the US HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act lifted the ban on organ donation between people living with HIV, the option of using organs from People with HIV became a reality. In Canada, HIV diagnosis was an exclusion criterion to organ donation until 2017, when permission was granted if requirements for ‘exceptional distribution’ could be met. Still, donation of organs from people with HIV poses challenges. Herein, we overview policies involving donors with HIV in Canada in order to inform healthcare providers, researchers and the community. We also advocate for the need to reassess these policies, highlight educational needs and engage interest in advancing research to inform policy reforms.

Keywords:

• Organ donation
• HIV
• HOPE act
• exceptional distribution

Disclosure statement

D.K. has received clinical trials grants from GSK and consulting fees from Roche, GSK, Merck. RSP has received educational grant to support a post-graduate trainee from Paladin. Peer-reviewed funding from Genome Canada, CIHR, FRQS, Kidney Foundation of Canada, RI-MUHC, MUHC Foundation, MI4. CTC has received speaker honorariums from Gilead, consulting honorariums from Viiv and Moderna, travel support to attend conferences from Gilead and Viiv and grant support from Gilead, Merck and Tilray Inc. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest.

Additional information

Funding

This webinar and manuscript was supported by the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) and the Canadian HIV Cure Enterprise (CanCURE) 2.0.