Relative risk of donor‐transmitted Toxoplasma gondii infection in heart, liver and kidney transplant recipients

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Abstract
Primary Toxoplasma gondii infection in immunocompromised patients may have devastating consequences. There are more reported cases of fatal donor‐acquired T. gondii infections in kidney than in heart or liver transplant recipients. This has produced a biased view of the true situation with regard to infection risk, principally because there have been many more kidney than liver or heart transplants performed. We have therefore studied the relative impact of donor‐acquired T. gondii infection in heart, liver and kidney transplant recipients in our center. We assessed 151 heart, 39 liver and 100 kidney transplant recipients and found 14.5% heart, 13.2% liver and 20% kidney transplant recipients were mismatched for T. gondii. The results show that, in our center, the risk of seronegative recipients acquiring primary T. gondii infection from a seropositive organ donor is greater in heart (57%) than in liver (20%) transplantation. No evidence of donor‐transmitted T. gondii in kidney transplant recipients was observed in this study. We have therefore shown the relative risk of donor‐acquired T. gondii infection in heart, liver and kidney transplantation in our center.