Transplantation associated rabies (again!)

The Washington Post is reporting today on the death of a renal transplant recipient from rabies. Interestingly, the transplant occurred 15 months prior, yet the donor and recipient rabies viruses were genetically identical. It's another case of organs being transplanted from a donor who died of encephalitis, which still strikes me as absurd. We've blogged before about this topic in cases involving rabies and Balamuthia.

Three years in this blog I wrote: It seems to me that at a minimum there should be an immediate ban on transplanting organs from donors with undiagnosed encephalitides in cases where transplantation is not immediately life-saving (e.g., cornea, kidney, intestine, pancreas, musculoskeletal grafts). And where transplantation is potentially immediately life-saving (e.g., heart, liver), full disclosure of the donor's diagnosis and its implications should be made available as part of the informed consent process.

I haven't changed my mind.

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