Man dies of rabies after kidney transplant from donor who saved cat from skunk
2 days ago
- #public-health
- #organ-transplant
- #rabies
- A Michigan man died of rabies after receiving a kidney from a donor who had been scratched by a skunk.
- The donor had defended a kitten from a skunk, sustaining a scratch but not realizing the rabies risk.
- The recipient developed rabies symptoms five weeks post-transplant and later died.
- Testing revealed the donor had a rabies strain consistent with a silver-haired bat, transmitted via the skunk.
- This is the fourth reported case of transplant-transmitted rabies in the U.S. since 1978.
- Three other recipients received cornea grafts from the same donor but were treated preventively and remained asymptomatic.
- Rabies is typically excluded from routine donor testing due to its rarity and diagnostic complexity.