World News

Compiled by Martin Flynn

USA organ donor HIV infection

Four transplant recipients at three Chicago hospitals have contracted HIV and hepatitis C from a single organ donor, US health officials said. The cases mark the first incidence of HIV infection contracted from organ donation in more than 20 years, according to Dr. Matthew Kuehnert, who oversees organ safety at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kuehnert said outside testing has confirmed that both the donor and all four transplant recipients have tested positive for both HIV and hepatitis C.

“It is very unlikely that all four would be infected with HIV and hepatitis C by chance,” Kuehnert said in a telephone interview. He said the CDC is conducting its own tests to match the strain of HIV in the donor with the infected recipients and to determine the best course of treatment.

Hospital officials confirmed that two patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center, one patient at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and one at Rush University Medical Center tested positive for HIV or human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.

“All of the policies were followed correctly and all of the tests were done correctly. Unfortunately, the tests came back as a false negative result,” said Mandy Claggett, a spokeswoman for United Network for Organ Sharing or UNOS, which sets policy for organ donation and has been monitoring the investigation. Kuehnert said the organs came from a high-risk donor, meaning from someone who fit under one of several criteria that would increase the chances that the person might have be infected with HIV. Those include men who have had sex with another man in the preceding five years, intravenous drug users, prisoners, and people who have had sex for money or drugs.

back to top of page