A novel coronavirus has had global impact on individual health and health care delivery. In this C4 article, contributors discuss various aspects of transplantation including donor and recipient screening, management of infected patients, and prevention of coronavirus disease (COVID). Donor screening with SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing (NAT) close to the time of procurement is recommended. Many programs are also screening all potential recipients at the time of admission. The management of COVID has evolved with remdesivir emerging as a new potential option for transplant recipients. Dexamethasone has also shown promise and convalescent plasma is under study. Prevention strategies for transplant candidates and recipients are paramount. Pediatric-specific issues are also discussed. Strategies for the psychological well-being of patients and providers are also imperative, in addition to future research priorities for transplantation.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. This is the third and largest coronavirus outbreak since the new millennium after SARS in 2002 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012. Over 3 million people have been infected and the COVID-19 has caused more than 217 000 deaths. A concern exists regarding the vulnerability of patients who have been treated with immunosuppressive drugs prior or during this pandemic. Would they be more susceptible to infection by the SARS-CoV-2 and how would their clinical course be altered by their immunosuppressed state? This is a question the wider medical fraternity-including ophthalmologists, rheumatologists, gastroenterologist and transplant physicians among others-must answer. The evidence from the SARS and MERS outbreak offer some degree of confidence that immunosuppression is largely safe in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary clinical experiences based on case reports, small series and observational studies show the morbidity and mortality rates in immunosuppressed patients may not differ largely from the general population. Overwhelmingly, current best practice guidelines worldwide recommended the continuation of immunosuppression treatment in patients who require them except for perhaps high-dose corticosteroid therapy and in patients with associated risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has significantly upended solid organ transplant (SOT) practice around the world. Early reports confirmed the heavy burden of COVID-19 in SOT recipients with mortality rates reaching up to 35%. Because most transplant recipients harbored multiple comorbidities known to be associated with a severe course of COVID-19, the true impact of immunosuppression by itself remained an unsolved issue. Transplant societies have initially recommended to postpone nonurgent renal transplantations, while trying to maintain life-saving transplant programs, such as heart, lung, and liver transplantations. The pandemic thus resulted in an unprecedented and sudden drop of transplant activity worldwide. Moreover, the best treatment strategy in infected patients was challenging. Both reduction of immunosuppression and use of targeted therapies aiming at counteracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection were the 2 faces of the therapeutic armamentarium. Recent controlled studies have better delineated the basis of mitigating and management strategies to improve patients' outcome. Nevertheless, and given the persistence of circulating virus, evidence-based recommendations in SOT recipients remain unclear. The resumption of transplant activity should be tailored with careful selection of both donors and recipients. Transplant decision should be made on a case-by-case basis after thorough assessment of the risks and benefits.

Spain has been amongst the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has posed significant challenges to the donation and transplantation program. Despite a dramatic decrease of donation and transplantation activities during the critical early weeks of the outbreak, the program has recovered and is learning to cope with COVID-19.

We describe the 4 pillars upon which the Spanish donation and transplantation program has been rebuilt.

(1) Standards have been developed and progressively updated for the evaluation and selection of potential donors and recipients with regards to SARS-CoV-2 infection. (2) Spain has been actively generating evidence to assess the validity of our standards and to understand the natural history of the infection in transplant recipients. No case of donor-derived COVID-19 has been reported to date. COVID-19 has been more frequent and has had a more aggressive course in recipients of solid organ transplants than in the general population, but this seems largely explained by the demographics and comorbidity of transplant patients. (3) As a result of this evidence and experience, recommendations have been issued for the management of COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients and candidates on the waiting list. (4) Finally, concrete guidance has been issued for centers to manage the donation and transplantation programs in relation to a dynamic and heterogeneous epidemiologic scenario.

The Spanish experience confronting the impact of COVID-19 upon donation and transplantation may help serve the needs of a broader community in other countries.

The tools in our armamentarium to prevent the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019, known as COVID-19, are social distancing; frequent handwashing; use of facial masks; preventing nonessential contacts/travel; nationwide lockdown; and testing, isolation, and contact tracing. However, the World Health Organization's suggestions to isolate, test, treat, and trace contacts are difficult to implement in the resourcelimited developing world. The points to weigh before performing deceased-donor organ transplant in developing countries are as follows: limitations in standard personal protective equipment (as approved by the World Health Organization), testing kits, asymptomatic infections, negative-pressure isolation rooms, intensive care unit beds, ventilator support, telehealth, availability of trained health care workers, hospital beds, the changing dynamic of this pandemic, the unwillingness of recipients, education updates, and additional burdens on the existing health care system. This pandemic has created ethical dilemmas on how to prioritize the use of our facilities, equipment, and supplies in the cash-strapped developing world. We believe that, at the present time, we should aim to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting a large sector of the population by diverting efforts from deceased-donor organ transplant. Transplant units should conduct case-bycase evaluations when assessing the convenience of carrying out lifesaving deceased-donor organ transplant, appropriately balanced with the resources needed to address the current pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov2) outbreak has caused a pandemic rapidly impacting on the way of life of the entire world. This impact in the specific setting of transplantation and immunosuppression has been poorly explored to date. Discordant data exist on the impact of previous coronavirus outbreaks on immunosuppressed patients. Overall, only a very limited number of cases have been reported in literature, suggesting that transplanted patients not necessarily present an increased risk of severe SARS-Cov2-related disease compared to the general population. We conducted a literature review related to the impact of immunosuppression on coronavirus infections including case reports and series describing immunosuppression management in transplant recipients. The role of steroids, calcineurin inhibitors, and mycophenolic acid has been explored more in detail. A point-in-time snapshot of the yet released literature and some considerations in relation to the use of immunosuppression in SARS-Cov2 infected transplant recipients are provided here for the physicians dealing with immunocompromised patients.

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease has transformed innumerable aspects of medical practice, particularly in the field of transplantation.

Here we describe a single-center approach to creating a generalizable, comprehensive, and graduated set of recommendations to respond in stepwise fashion to the challenges posed by these conditions, and the underlying principles guiding such decisions.

Creation of a stepwise plan will allow transplant centers to respond in a dynamic fashion to the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly worldwide. While there are presently a few case reports/series on COVID-19 amongst solid organ transplant (SOT) patients, there is no official guideline for the management of SOT patients.

The authors discuss the pharmacotherapeutic management of SOT patients during the COVID-19 outbreak and provide their expert perspectives.

Prophylactic reduction of immunosuppression because of fear of COVID-19 is not suggested in SOT patients. With maintenance immunosuppressive regimens, corticosteroids can be continued during COVID-19. Continuing other immunosuppressive drugs with lowest effective dose/blood concentration is suggested for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Discontinuation of antimetabolites and perhaps inhibitors of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is suggested in moderate to severe COVID-19. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) may be continued or substituted for mTOR inhibitors with lowest therapeutic concentrations in moderate to severe COVID-19. If continued in patients with COVID-19, therapeutic drug monitoring of CNIs/mTOR inhibitors and appropriate dose reduction is recommended in co-administration with protease inhibitors, hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine, or interleukin (IL)-1/IL-6 receptor antagonists. Complete blood count monitoring is recommended in patients who continue taking antimetabolites or mTOR inhibitors. Dose modification/avoidance should be considered for chloroquine, atazanavir, oseltamivir, ribavirin, anakinra, and Janus associated kinase inhibitors in patients with organ function impairment.