Patient Gets HIV From Kidney Transplant

The New York City recipient of a kidney from a live donor has contracted HIV from the transplant, the Wall Street Journal reports. It marks the first time the virus has been transmitted from a live donor since 1985, when a powerful test was approved to screen donors. The donor was tested according to protocol, but appears to have had unsafe sex after the screening, said a spokeswoman for the New York health department.

The hospital hasn’t been identified to protect the patient’s privacy. “Of course this is a rare case, but we felt like we needed to alert centers to this possibility so they can talk to potential donors about risks and do testing closer to the time of surgery,” said the rep for the health department, which is now calling on hospitals to run tests for HIV and hepatitis B and C within 14 days before the donation. (More kidney transplant stories.)