Korean J Transplant.  2020 Jun;34(2):71-77. 10.4285/kjt.2020.34.2.71.

Transplantation in Asia during the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic: briefs from member countries of the Asian Society of Transplantation

• Kee T
• Jeong JC
• Ha J
• Rashid HU
• Begum NAS
• Ma MK
• Kute V
• Yuzawa K
• Yahya R
• Ahmad G
• Od-Erdene L
• Shah DS
• Danguilan RA
• Ahn C
• Rana DS

• KMID: 2503882
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4285/kjt.2020.34.2.71

Abstract

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected 1,029,968 people in Asia as of May 16, 2020. Although Asia was the first continent to be affected, many countries in the region continue to battle COVID-19, which challenges the way transplant programs provide their services. Given the diversity of healthcare systems in Asia, the countermeasures in response to COVID-19 are as potentially diverse. This review reports the experiences of transplant services in member countries of the Asian Society of Transplantation (AST) as well as provides a platform for sharing of best practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. AST invited member countries to provide a short description of their transplant experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whenever information is available, countries were asked to provide information on COVID-19 related statistics, status of transplant programs, mitigation measures taken to prevent COVID-19, and other areas of transplant programs impacted by COVID-19. Ten countries responded to the invitation of which seven still have active transplant programs at varying levels of activity. All countries have protocols for donor/recipient screening and countermeasures to prevent COVID-19 infections in recipients and healthcare providers. Interestingly, these countries report only 16 transplant recipients with COVID-19 infection but no cases of donor-transmitted COVID-19 infection. Despite the diversity of healthcare systems in Asia, transplant centers in Asia have taken appropriate precautions to avoid COVID-19 infections, though the long-term impact of COVID-19 remains unclear.

Keyword

COVID-19; Transplantation; Asia; Donation; Surgery; Infections

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