ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WJRT) – (2/21/21) – The University of Michigan Medical School reported what could be the first proven case of COVID-19 transmission through an organ transplant.
The American Journal of Transplantation investigation said a woman in Ann Arbor contracted COVID-19 and died last fall after receiving an infected double lung transplant.
It said the organ donor had the virus even though they had shown no signs of illness and tested negative initially.
Researchers said that three days after surgery, the recipient’s health deteriorated. They said samples from her new lung came back positive for COVID-19.
Doctors said a surgeon who treated the donor’s lungs was also infected with the virus, but later recovered.
The case called for more thorough testing of lung transplant donors.
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