Correlation of Donor-Derived Cell-Free DNA to Rejection Events in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients

Purpose: Acute cellular (ACR) and antibody-mediated (AMR) rejection are risk factors for allograft loss in heart transplant (HT) recipients. Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), although considered gold standard for rejection surveillance, is invasive and has high interobserver variability. Non-invasive donor-derived cell free DNA (dd-cfDNA) sampling has high negative predictive value for rejection in adults and is increasingly used in pediatrics. This single center study aimed to test the performance of dd-cfDNA in detecting acute rejection in pediatric HT recipients.
Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Source Type: research