U.S. Man Dies of Rabies after Receiving Infected Kidney Transplant
December 4, 2025
2 min reading
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Man dies of rabies after receiving infected kidney transplant
A man has died after receiving a kidney transplant from someone who died of undiagnosed rabies, according to U.S. public health officials.
Kathleen Reeder Wildlife Photography/Getty
A man has died after contracting rabies following a kidney transplant, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. This is the 10th known case of an organ or tissue recipient contracting the virus from a donor in the United States since 1978.
In this case, in December 2024, the man, a Michigan resident, received a left kidney from an Idaho-based donor at a hospital in Ohio. The recipient started feeling unwell five weeks later. Her initial symptoms included weakness, confusion and incontinence. After a week, he was hospitalized with a fever, difficulty swallowing, problems with his nervous system and, most importantly, an irrational fear of water, a key symptom of rabies in humans. He died 51 days after the transplant, according to the CDC.
Authorities determined the donor was infected with the virus by a skunk, which scratched him and a kitten he was holding weeks before he was found dead of suspected cardiac arrest. But later tests revealed that he, too, had died of rabies. The skunk appears to have contracted rabies from a bat.
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The donor’s other organs and tissues are not considered a risk to the public, the CDC said: Eye grafts from his corneas were removed from recipients who showed no symptoms or were not implanted. His other organs have not been implanted. Health officials identified 349 other health care workers and 18 community contacts of the kidney donor and recipient who were identified as potentially exposed, and officials recommended that 13 percent of those individuals receive precautionary treatment.
Transplant donors are screened for many diseases, but not usually for rabies. The CDC has warned that the risk of rabies from transplants is low, adding that if donor families or health care workers suspect possible rabies, then they should contact public health officials.
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