A woman from Michigan, USA, who needed a lung transplant, died shortly after the operation because she contracted the corona virus. Only after her death did it become clear that she contracted the disease because of the lung transplanted into her body, which was taken from a person carrying the virus. In which the corona virus was transmitted through organ transplantation, the American Journal of Transplantation reported.
“We certainly would not have used these lungs if we had previously performed a corona test on the person from whom they were taken,” said Dr. Daniel Coel, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Michigan School of Medicine. From brain death, after experiencing a car accident.
According to the study, she underwent a corona test about 48 hours before the transplant which was found to be negative. The woman who needed the transplant suffered from chronic lung disease and also underwent a corona test that came out negative, but on the third day after the transplant, she began to show symptoms of the virus – fever, low blood pressure and difficulty breathing. Only when she underwent further examination did it become clear that she was positive for Corona.
The doctors then examined the donor’s body in the laboratory, using fluids taken from the lungs, and the donor was indeed found positive. Apart from that, the doctor who performed the transplant also contracted the virus following the surgery, as the surgeon was not required to wear a mask because of the negative corona tests, but he eventually recovered. Also, doctors claim that the unexpected transmission of any infection from donor to donor is particularly rare, and stands at only about one percent.