Selecting suitable solid organ transplant donors: Reducing the risk of donor-transmitted infections

Selection of the appropriate donor is essential to a successful allograft recipient outcome for solid organ transplantation. Multiple infectious diseases have been transmitted from the donor to the recipient via transplantation. Donor-transmitted infections cause increased morbidity and mortality to the recipient. In recent years, a series of high-profile transmissions of infections have occurred in organ recipients prompting increased attention on the process of improving the selection of an appropriate donor that balances the shortage of needed allografts with an approach that mitigates the risk of donor-transmitted infection to the recipient. Important advances focused on improving donor screening diagnostics, using previously excluded high-risk donors, and individualizing the selection of allografts to recipients based on their prior infection history are serving to increase the donor pool and improve outcomes after transplant. This article serves to review the relevant literature surrounding this topic and to provide a suggested approach to the selection of an appropriate solid organ transplant donor.