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Contaminated Kidney Leads To Rabies Death Of Youthful Maryland Man

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This morning the Washington Post reported on the tragic death of a man in his 20′s who contracted rabies after receiving a kidney transplant. The Rabies Virus is a lethal disease that attacks the body’s nervous system. According to the Center for Disease Control

The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms.

How can such a debilitating virus be passed from one donor organ to a needing organ recipient?

The United Network of Organ Sharing is responsible for matching donor organs to needing recipients. The process of matching a donor organ to a recipient is not as simple as “first come first serve.” There is actually a highly complex algorithm utilized in matching the best organs to the best individuals for compatibility. In order to determine what organs should be matched with specific individuals, the organs undergo a series of tests, including tests for infectious disease. Shockingly, as reported by the Post, “Rabies is not one of them“.

It is very unfortunate that UNOS did not screen for such a known deadly disease. While UNOS may be able to explain away the failure to test for rabies based upon the time constraints and the accuracy of the testing, should that preclude UNOS or an accepting physician from making the effort to determine if an organ being offered to one individual has the capabilities of killing the individual?


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