Published online Feb 18, 2017. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v9.i5.288
Peer-review started: September 28, 2016
First decision: October 31, 2016
Revised: December 4, 2016
Accepted: December 16, 2016
Article in press: December 19, 2016
Published online: February 18, 2017
Processing time: 143 Days and 2.4 Hours
Core tip: Individuals with chronic hepatitis C with advanced fibrosis and kidney failure who undergo kidney transplant alone are believed to have lower long-term survival. Surprisingly, we have only a few studies with inconsistent results. The concern about isolated-kidney-transplant alone is that the liver disease would progress to decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure in the setting of immunosuppression after kidney transplant. Earlier, interferon was associated with low virologic cure and high adverse events including graft rejection. However, with development of newer directly acting anti-virals we wish to invite our readers to reconsider the need for a combined liver-kidney transplant in hepatitis C patients with advanced fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis.