The Landscape of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasing in prevalence due to the growing opioid epidemic; however, its impact on pediatric kidney transplantation is unknown. This study compared kidney transplant outcomes between HCV-positive and propensity-score-weighted HCV-negative pediatric recipients. It also examined HCV-positive kidney utilization for pediatric transplantation in the United States. We used the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to identify pediatric kidney transplants (<18 years) performed between 4/1/1994 and 12/1/2022. We used propensity-score weighting to create a group of HCV-negative recipients with characteristics similar to HCV-positive recipients. Odds ratios (OR) for delayed graft function (DGF) and hazard ratios (HR) for patient and graft survival were estimated using logistic and Cox regression models. We found similar DGF rates (13.9% vs. 10.3%, p=0.14) and no difference in graft (HR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.83-1.31, p=0.71; 10-year survival 54.9% vs. 54.5%) or patient survival (HR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.58-1.95, p=0.84; 10-year survival 93.9% vs. 92.0%) between the groups. Four HCV-positive (2.5%), 3 HCV-negative children (0.02%), and 1 (0.05%) child with unknown HCV status received HCV-positive kidneys. We observed no increased risk of graft loss or death in children with HCV infection. The use of HCV-positive donors for pediatric kidney transplantation is rare.