Heart transplant in a Sars‐CoV‐2 positive recipient: Management protocol of the world's first case

Abstract

The advent of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection in China at the end of 2019 has developed into a global outbreak, and COVID‐ 19 is an ongoing major public health issue. During the pandemic, transplant programs had to devise strategies to deal with the possibility of COVID‐19‐positive donors and recipients. We describe the case of a heart transplant recipient who tested positive with the SARS‐ CoV2 swab upon admission to our Unit of Cardiac Surgery when a suitable donor became available. Given his clinical status of end‐stage heart failure and the absence of imaging and clinical signs suggestive of COVID‐19, and his having been vaccinated with three doses, we decided to proceed with the transplant.