Background: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is an increasing problem in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has decreased the morbidity associated with HIV and has prompted renewed interest in renal transplantation.
Methods: We performed four cases of deceased donor renal transplantation in HIV+ recipients and three cases where laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (LLDN) was utilized to obtain the kidney for transplantation into living-related HIV+ recipients. In the four deceased donor cases, conventional tacrolimus-based immunosuppression, without antibody induction was used. In the three living-related cases, the immunosuppressive regimen was based on two principles: recipient pretreatment and minimal posttransplant immunosuppression. Alemtuzumab 30 mg (Campath 1-H) was used for preconditioning followed by low-dose tacrolimus monotherapy.
Results: Of the four deceased donor cases, one patient continues to have good graft function, and another is not yet on dialysis but has significant graft dysfunction. Rejection was observed in three patients (75%). Infectious complications occurred in one patient (25%), all non-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDs) defining. In the three living-related cases, all had good graft function, and none have experienced acute rejection. HIV viral loads remain undetectable. CD4 counts are slowly recovering. No infectious or surgical complications occurred. There were no deaths in either group.
Conclusions: These data suggest that living-related donor renal transplantation with steroid-free tacrolimus monotherapy in a "tolerogenic" regimen can be efficacious. However, long-term follow-up is needed to confirm this observation.