Inside STAT: Study suggests transplant of hepatitis C-infected hearts and lungs would be safe

PETE BUCCIARELLI AT BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL. (KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR STAT)

In 2017, 56-year-old Pete Bucciarelli was told he needed a lung transplant. Without one, he would only have a couple months to live, but the average wait time for a lung is more than a year. Then, as part of a clinical trial, he was offered a faster option — accepting lungs from a donor infected with the hepatitis C virus. The results of that trial were just published and revealed that lungs and hearts can be safely transplanted from virus-infected donors. Organ recipients take antiviral drugs for four weeks to avoid being infected, and those followed for at least six months — including Bucciarelli — were doing well and remained uninfected. STAT’s Jacquelyn Corley has more on the trial here.