Kidney Transplant Recipient in NY is HIV Positive

A New Yorker was tested positive for HIV following a kidney transplant making this the first time that a transmission has taken place due to a transplant since screening tests were set up nearly three decades ago.

The donor was screen for any possible infection 11 weeks before the transplant surgery was to take place and he is supposed to have engaged in unprotected sex during the period between screening and the surgery.

New York State Department of Health spokeswoman, Claudia Hutton, confirmed the case saying "In the intervening time from initial testing, the donor engaged in some risky behavior and contracted HIV. The donor and the recipient are now aware of it and how it happened."

Screening of donor was set up in 1985 to avoid such a scenario and New York City Health Department's Dr. Colin Shepard said that the screening tests should be pushed as close to the surgery as possible in order to avoid similar cases in the future



Source: Medindia