Transplant Fatality: Donor Gave Recipient Rabies

A Michigan man who received what was supposed to be a life-saving kidney ended up dying soon after the transplant—because the donor had rabies. The CDC pieced the puzzle together only after the fact because organ donors are not typically screened for the disease given how seldom it occurs, reports the New York Times. "This is an exceptionally rare event," said Dr. Lara Danziger-Isakov, an infectious disease expert at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "Overall, the risk is exceptionally small."

The unusual chain of events began when the organ donor was scratched by a skunk on his property in Idaho and died five days later of what at the time was thought to be a heart attack. However, the CDC learned he had been experiencing telltale symptoms of rabies before his death, including hallucinations, trouble swallowing and walking, and a stiff neck. Testing conducted after the kidney recipient's death confirmed the donor had rabies, per Scientific American.

The recipient began experiencing similar symptoms—including a fear of water—within days of the operation and died after a week in the hospital. Since 1978, the CDC has documented 13 cases of organ recipients contracting rabies from donors, seven of them fatal. Health authorities suspect the skunk had been infected by a rabid bat.