3.5.4. Risks for Recipients

To the best of our knowledge, until now there have been no cases of donor-to-recipient transmission of SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, recipients run the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections during the pandemic. Asymptomatic patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 can spread the virus. It is currently unknown whether asymptomatic individuals are only asymptomatic initially after contracting the infection, or if they remain asymptomatic throughout the course of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In spite of the asymptomatic carrier state, these individuals may transmit the virus, although the exact mechanism of acquiring and transmitting the virus requires further study [27,28]. Even in a convalescent patient, a high sputum viral load has been demonstrated, raising concerns about prolonged viral shedding of SARS-CoV-2 after recovery [28].
