Mohan S, King KL, Husain SA, et al. - Using national registry data for waitlisted candidates and kidney transplant recipients, researchers sought to report on mortality patterns among kidney transplant candidates and recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

• Candidate and recipient populations were examined for excess all-cause deaths in 2020 and deaths directly attributed to COVID-19 in relation to prepandemic mortality patterns in 2019 and 2018.

• Relative to the previous year, 24% higher all-cause mortality was recorded on the transplant waitlist; deaths were more frequently reported among those who were male, obese, and belong to a racial/ethnic minority group.

• Although COVID-19 attributed to 11% of deaths on the waitlist in 2020, the remainder of the difference in mortality is also linked with COVID-19 to the extent that the pandemic has adversely influenced access to and delivery of healthcare, particularly during the peak of the initial surge.

• Recipients who died of COVID-19 were more frequently younger, more likely to be obese, had lower educational attainment, and were more likely to belong to racial/ethnic minority groups when compared with those who died of other causes in 2020 or 2019.

• Overall, in 2020, waitlisted candidates and kidney transplant recipients had higher rates of mortality linked with COVID-19.