Man Receiving Transplant Dies Of Rabies After Donor Was Infected By Animal

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00:00Man Receiving Transplant Dies of Rabies After Donor Was Infected by Animal

00:04A rare and tragic case of transplant-related rabies has raised new concerns about organ

00:10donation safety in the United States. Health officials confirmed that a Michigan man died

00:15in February 2025 after receiving a kidney transplant in Ohio in December 2024.

00:22According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigators, the donor was

00:26scratched while stopping a skunk attacking a kitten on his rural property in late October

00:302024. The scratch bled, but the donor believed he had not been bitten. In the weeks that followed,

00:37he developed concerning symptoms, including trouble swallowing, difficulty walking, a stiff

00:42neck, and hallucinations. He was later found unresponsive at home and was thought to have

00:47suffered a heart attack. Doctors were unable to save him, and he was declared brain-dead

00:52before life support was withdrawn. Although his family mentioned the skunk incident on

00:57a risk assessment form, doctors did not suspect rabies. Because rabies is extremely rare and

01:03testing is complex, it is not part of routine donor screening in the U.S. The kidney recipient

01:08began showing symptoms, including fever, tremors, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia, in early

01:152025. He died 51 days after the transplant. The CDC identified the virus as the silver-haired bat

01:22variant, suggesting the skunk had been infected by a bat and transmitted the virus through the donor's

01:28scratch. Three other individuals received corneal tissue from the same donor. Their grafts were removed,

01:34and they received immediate treatment, and none have shown signs of infection. Officials also contacted

01:40370 people potentially exposed to the donor, recommending preventive treatment for 46. This is

01:47only the fourth known U.S. case of rabies transmitted through organ donation. While the CDC stresses that

01:53such transmissions are extremely rare, experts now urge transplant teams to consult public health

01:59officials when donors report recent encounters with potentially rabid wildlife.