Kidney Transplantation During COVID-19 Outbreak: Data From Public and Non-Public Dialysis Network

Background The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected medical services in Poland. All restrictions, additional procedures, and numerous infections among medical staff affected transplantation in the country. This study aimed to analyze reports prepared by the Polish Transplant Coordination Center Poltransplant and internal Fresenius Nephrocare Poland to assess differences in the number of patients who qualified for kidney transplantation and transplanted during the pandemic compared with a pre-pandemic year. Methods Official data from the Polish Transplant Coordinating Centre Poltransplant bulletin from 2019, 2020, and 2021 was analyzed to determine the number of patients on the waiting list for solid organ transplantation. The number of transplantations reported by Polish transplant centers was also considered. Results During the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, the number of qualified and transplanted patients was significantly lower than in the pre-pandemic period. The worst data concerns the new qualifications, which were significantly lower in the first year of the pandemic due to all the restrictions implemented. The number of kidney transplant procedures provided during the 2-year pandemic period decreased significantly (-20.8%) in 2020, and in the second year, the negative trend continued (-0.8%). For private dialysis providers, the number of active patients on the waiting list for kidney transplantation was a bit better—it decreased from 265 to 239 in 2020 (-9.8%) and increased to 259 in 2021 (+8.4%). The decline in the number of patients treated in Fresenius Nephrocare dialysis centers was more significant, decreasing by 27.8% in 2020 compared with 2019. In 2021, the number of transplanted patients slightly increased by about 2.5%. Conclusions The decrease in qualified and transplanted patients during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak clearly shows the need to undertake multidisciplinary discussions among all stakeholders to create new procedures and processes that will help protect the health care system and patients in future crisis situations.