What is known about HIV transmission in organ transplants in RJ

How tests are carried out

There are a number of infectious diseases that must be tested in all donors so that these organs can be sent for transplant. “This entire protocol is very rigorous, very serious,” said the former president of ABTO (Brazilian Organ Transplant Association) and liver transplant specialist, Ben-Hur Ferraz Neto, to the newspaper O Globo.

After the diagnosis of brain death in a potential donor, the laboratory collects the patient’s blood and carries out all serological tests for diseases that can be transmitted, such as HIV, hepatitis B, C, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, syphilis, Chagas disease, he explains. the specialist.

Bárbara Benini, coordinator of the liver transplant group at Hospital São Paulo da Unifesp, explained to Folha de S.Paulo that even before the tests, an interview takes place with the donor’s family member to understand what their lifestyle was like and whether there is any risk — as with blood donors.

There are several types of blood tests. However, when it comes to organ donation, the tests performed are “ultrasensitive”, explained Benini.

“This is not usually a quick test, it takes four to six hours to get the result, it is close to 100% safe and has very little human interference,” the expert told Folha. She states that the chance of a false negative in a test like this is very low.