Observational study finds no link between HIV reservoir size and kidney transplant rejection in HIV+ individuals, indicating safe organ transplants between HIV+ donors and recipients.
People with HIV have higher risk for rejection after kidney transplantation but the mechanism is poorly understood. As HIV latency promotes immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation, we evaluated whether the size of the HIV latent viral reservoir (LVR) at baseline and through 52-weeks is associated with rejection in kidney transplant recipients with HIV from donors with and without HIV. Using the intact proviral DNA assay, we found no differences in the LVR between those who experienced rejection (n=14) versus those who did not (N=55) regardless of donor HIV status. These data support the feasibility of HIV+ to HIV+ organ transplantation. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT03500315.
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Sulaiman et al. (2026) studied this question.
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