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The Use of Hepatitis C Positive Kidneys in Hepatitis C Negative Kidney Transplant Recipients

Transplantation of Kidneys of Hepatitis C (HCV) Seropositive Donors to HCV Seronegative Recipients With Subsequent Therapy With Sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir (Epclusa)

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03809533
Enrollment
30
Registered
2019-01-18
Start date
2019-05-29
Completion date
2026-04-01
Last updated
2025-11-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Kidney Transplantation, Hepatitis C

Brief summary

This is an open-label, pilot trial to test the safety and efficacy of transplantation of kidneys from hepatitis C seropositive non-viremic (HCV Ab+/NAT-) and HCV seropositive viremic (HCV Ab+/NAT+) donors to HCV seronegative recipients on the kidney transplant waitlist. Treatment and prophylaxis will be administered using a transmission-triggered approach for the first scenario (HCV Ab+/NAT- donors, arm 1) and a prophylaxis approach for the later scenario (HCV Ab+/NAT+ donors, arm 2).

Detailed description

This is a prospective, single center, pilot, open-label study of transplantation of kidneys of HCVAb+ donors to HCVAb- recipients with subsequent therapy with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa®). Recipients of a kidney from HCVAb+/NAT- donors will be in arm 1 (the transmission-triggered arm) of the study. In this arm, the study will monitor HCV by measuring HCV RNA in renal transplant recipients. If HCV RNA is detected, indicating transmission of HCV, recipients will be treated with sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa®) for 12 weeks. Virological response will be assessed at 4 weeks, end of treatment and 12 weeks after completion of therapy. Recipients of a kidney from HCVAb+/NAT+ donors will be in arm 2 (the prophylaxis arm) of the study. In this arm, patients will be started on a 12-week course of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa®) immediately post-operatively and will undergo close monitoring of HCV RNA for evidence of transmission. To be eligible for the study, subjects need to be listed for renal transplantation, be not infected with HCV, HBV or HIV, and sign informed consent.

Interventions

12-week, oral, fixed-dose

Sponsors

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
CollaboratorOTHER
Amit D Tevar, MD
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

(recipients): 1. Patients with end-stage renal disease listed for kidney transplantation at UPMC. 2. On chronic hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis or stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) defined as a glomerular filtration rate \< 15 ml/min 3. Age ≥ 18 4. No available living kidney donor 5. Listed for an isolated kidney transplant at UPMC with \<60m of accrued transplant waiting time and/or \<60m of dialysis time 6. Have panel reactive antibody level of \<98% 7. No obvious contraindication to kidney transplant 8. Able to travel to UPMC for routine post-transplant visits and study visits for a minimum of 12 months after transplantation 9. Able to provide informed consent 10. Be willing to use a contraceptive method for a year after transplant

Exclusion criteria

(recipients): 1. HIV positive 2. HCVAb or HCV RNA positive 3. Presence of behavioral risk factors for contracting HCV other than being on hemodialysis. These behavioral risk factors are current injection drug use, current intranasal illicit drug use, current percutaneous/parenteral exposures in an unregulated setting. 4. Hepatitis B surface antigen positive 5. History of liver cirrhosis 6. Persistently elevated liver transaminases, defined as ALT/AST at least 3 times the upper limit of normal for a minimum of 3 consecutive months 7. History of atrial fibrillation requiring the use of amiodarone over the past 12m 8. Patients with etiology of renal failure with increased risk of causing early graft failure as assessed by the investigator team 9. Receipt of prior organ transplant 10. Waitlisted for a multi-organ transplant 11. Pregnant women 12. Known allergy to sofosbuvir/velpatasvir 13. Any condition, psychiatric or physical, that in the opinion of the investigator would make it unsafe to proceed with transplantation or interfere with the ability of the subject to participate in the study Inclusion criteria (donors): 1. HCV antibody positive 2. HCV NAT negative or positive 3. Kidney donor profile index (KDPI) score \<85

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Adverse Events5 yearsRate of adverse events due to sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa) in patients in each experimental group
HCV free at 1 year1 yearProportion of participants in each experimental group who are free of HCV at 1 year following transplantation

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Incidence of graft loss5 years
Transmission rate of HCV from HCVAb+/NAT- donors to HCVAb- recipients5 years
Waitlist time after enrollment5 years
All-cause mortality5 years
Incidence of allograft rejection5 years

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026