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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Exp Med. Nov 20, 2021; 11(5): 55-65
Published online Nov 20, 2021. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v11.i5.55
Emerging role of cell-free DNA in kidney transplantation
Bhavna Chopra, Kalathil K Sureshkumar
Bhavna Chopra, Nephrology and Hypertension, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, United States
Kalathil K Sureshkumar, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, United State
Author contributions: Chopra B and Sureshkumar KK performed the literature review and manuscript writing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Bhavna Chopra received grant/research support from CareDx; Kalathil Sureshkumar received grant/research support and honoraria from CareDx.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kalathil K Sureshkumar, FRCP, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny Health Network, 320 East North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, United States. kalathil.sureshkumar@ahn.org
Received: April 9, 2021
Peer-review started: April 9, 2021
First decision: May 14, 2021
Revised: June 1, 2021
Accepted: September 1, 2021
Article in press: September 1, 2021
Published online: November 20, 2021
Processing time: 221 Days and 13.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is now available as a noninvasive biomarker to evaluate the risk of rejection in kidney allografts and other organ transplants. The technology utilizes next generation sequencing and does not require donor genotyping. In this review we discuss the current literature on the utility of dd-cfDNA in kidney transplantation, the limitations, and future directions.