• Posted December 8, 2025

Two Deaths Linked to Rabies-Infected Kidney Transplant

A rare case of rabies linked to an organ transplant has resulted in two deaths, federal health officials announced.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a man in Idaho became infected with rabies after a skunk scratched his leg in October 2024.

About five weeks later, he developed serious symptoms including confusion, trouble swallowing and difficulty walking. He later collapsed and died at a hospital.

His organs were donated, including his left kidney, which went to a patient in Michigan.

About five weeks after the transplant, the kidney recipient began experiencing tremors, weakness, confusion and urinary incontinence.

He later developed fever, difficulty swallowing and a fear of drinking water, which is a characteristic symptom of rabies.

After a week in the hospital, he also died.

Testing showed both men had the same bat-linked strain of rabies, meaning the virus was likely transmitted through the transplant.

Rabies transmission through donated organs is extremely rare. Since 1978, four organ donors have spread rabies to 13 recipients, according to the CDC.

Of those people, six survived after treatment, while seven died.

Doctors noted that organ donors are not routinely screened for rabies, because human infections are rare and testing is complex.

"This is an exceptionally rare event," Dr. Lara Danziger-Isakov, a board member of the American Society of Transplantation, told The New York Times. "Overall, the risk is exceptionally small."

More testing revealed the donor’s other kidney, which was not transplanted, also contained the virus.

What's more, three other patients received grafts from the donor's corneas. Their grafts were removed as a precaution as one of the corneas tested positive for rabies.

All three recipients are receiving preventive treatment.

Rabies in humans is rare in the United States, with fewer than 10 deaths each year, but more than 3,500 animals test positive yearly.

The case follows a record year for organ donation. 

In 2024, the U.S. performed 48,149 transplants from 24,018 donors, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on how the organ donation and transplantation process works.

SOURCE: The New York Times, Dec. 6, 2025