Mayo Clinic Q&A: Transplant Surgeries and COVID-19

This episode is shared from Mayo Clinic Q&A and was recorded in September, 2020.  To claim credit visit: https://ce.mayo.edu/covid19podcast  Guest:  Patrick G. Dean, M.D.  Host: Sanjeev (Sanj) Kakar, M.D. (@sanjkakar)  Transplants are identified as nonelective surgeries, and transplant patients have faced urgent medical needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.  "Our practice, like many others across the country, did slow down in March and April of this year," says Dr. Patrick Dean, a Mayo Clinic transplant surgeon. "Patients and providers were concerned ― appropriately so ― about what would happen with this pandemic and whether it would be safe to have a transplant or for that matter any health care that wasn't absolutely emergent."  In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Dean talks about taking care of transplant patients; overcoming surgery challenges during the pandemic; the increased risks transplant patients have of developing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, because of compromised immune systems; and the important need for COVID-19 testing.  AskMayoExpert COVID-19 Resources: https://askmayoexpert.mayoclinic.org/navigator/COVID-19  Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd.