Long-Term Clinical and Immunological Impact of Severe COVID-19 on a Living Kidney Transplant Recipient – A Case Report

• Main Authors: Liru Qiu, Ji Zhang, Yafei Huang, Gen Chen, Zhishui Chen, Changsheng Ming, Xia Lu, Nianqiao Gong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Immunology
• Subjects: COVID-19; living kidney transplant; lung injury; renal tubular injury; immunity
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.741765/full

The long-term impact of COVID-19 on transplant recipients remains unknown. We describe the case of a 30-year-old male kidney transplant recipient from Wuhan, China that was treated for severe COVID-19 in February 2020. He suffered an acute lung and renal injury and required systemic treatment including adjustment of his immunosuppressant regime. He was followed up to 1-year after discharge. No chronic lung fibrosis or deterioration of his pulmonary function was observed. Despite COVID-19 mediated damage to his renal tubular cells, no transplant rejection occurred. His immunological profile demonstrated both cellular anti-SARS-CoV-2 reactivity and specific humoral immunity, indicating that it is beneficial for the transplanted patients to be immunized with SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine. This case will help guide clinical decision making for immunocompromised individuals that become infected with SARS-CoV-2.