Response to “Is the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in solid organ transplant recipients really similar to that of the general population?”

To the Editor,

We thank the authors Maria Mendoza et al.¹ for their comments related to our publication on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients.² Our study included a cohort of 47 consecutive SOT recipients with COVID-19. As noted in our study the 12 patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were treated as outpatients were excluded from the analysis to avoid potential selection bias. The study therefore compares 35 hospitalized SOT and 100 hospitalized nontransplant patients with COVID-19. Our findings reflect the outcomes of only hospitalized transplant recipients with severe COVID-19. The current reported experience of COVID-19 in the SOT population is mainly in hospitalized, mostly kidney recipients, at a median of 5 years posttransplant.³ We agree future studies using serological screening will help determine the penetrance of SARS-CoV-2 in the SOT population. Such studies will help better define the entire clinical spectrum of COVID-19 in the early and late stages of transplantation of different organ types.