Pausing transplants in the face of a global pandemic: Patient survival implications

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has disrupted normal operating procedures at transplant centers. With the possibility that COVID‐19 infection carries an overall 4% mortality rate and potentially a 24% mortality rate among the immunocompromised transplant recipients, many transplant centers considered the possibility of slowing down and even potentially pausing all transplants. Many proposals regarding the need for pausing organ transplants exist; however, much remains unknown. Whereas the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the overall healthcare system is unknown, the potential impact of pausing organ transplants over a period can be estimated. This study presents a model for evaluating the impact of pausing liver transplants over a spectrum of model for end‐stage liver disease‐sodium (MELD‐Na) scores. Our model accounts for two potential risks of a pause: (1) the waitlist mortality of all patients who do not receive liver transplants during the pause period, and (2) the impact of a longer waiting list due to the pause of liver transplants and the continuous accrual of new patients. Using over 12 years of liver transplant data from the United Network for Organ Sharing and a system of differential equations, we estimate the threshold probability above which a decision maker should pause liver transplants to reduce the loss of patient life months. We also compare different pause policies to illustrate the value of patient‐specific and center‐specific approaches. Finally, we analyze how capacity constraints affect the loss of patient life months and the length of the waiting list. The results of this study are useful to decision makers in deciding whether and how to pause organ transplants during a pandemic. The results are also useful to patients (and their care providers) who are waiting for organ transplants.

The Challenges of Risk Aversion in Kidney Transplantation: Lessons From the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Brazil

“…33 Finally, the acquisition of this large data set provided us with a unique opportunity to develop local A recent report has introduced a statistical model assessing waitlist mortality of patients who are unable to receive liver transplants because of the disruptions of the pandemic. 34 This model also evaluated the consequences of prolonged waiting times with disease progression and a continuous influx of new candidates while transplant activities remain suspended. The findings of this model emphasize the significance of adverse outcomes associated with halting organ transplants, including an accumulation of patients on waiting, compromising life expectancy.…”

Managing pandemics: A POM perspective and directions for future research

“…of Infection in a Region" (Jain & Rayal, 2023), and "Operations (Management) Warp Speed: Rapid Deployment of Hospital-Focused Predictive/Prescriptive Analytics for the COVID-19 Pandemic" (Shi et al, 2023). Zhang et al (2023) focus on quantifying the risk of pausing organ transplants on the providers and patients. More specifically, the paper addresses four related questions using the clinical setting of liver transplants: (1) Should the decision maker pause organ transplants?…”

“…Zhang et al. (2023) focus on quantifying the risk of pausing organ transplants on the providers and patients. More specifically, the paper addresses four related questions using the clinical setting of liver transplants: (1) Should the decision maker pause organ transplants?…”

“…We accepted four papers that deal with hospital capacity and operations. These include: “Pausing transplants in the face of a global pandemic: Patient survival implications” (Zhang et al., 2023), “Hospital Admission, Facility‐based Isolation, and Social Distancing: An SEIR Model with Constrained Medical Resources” (Chen & Kong, 2023), “Managing Medical Equipment Capacity with Early Spread of Infection in a Region” (Jain & Rayal, 2023), and “Operations (Management) Warp Speed: Rapid Deployment of Hospital‐Focused Predictive/Prescriptive Analytics for the COVID‐19 Pandemic” (Shi et al., 2023).…”

“…We accepted four papers that deal with hospital capacity and operations. These include: "Pausing transplants in the face of a global pandemic: Patient survival implications" (Zhang et al, 2023), "Hospital Admission, Facilitybased Isolation, and Social Distancing: An SEIR Model with Constrained Medical Resources" (Chen & Kong, 2023), "Managing Medical Equipment Capacity with Early Spread…”