Health experts are looking to establish new organ transplantation guidelines after two U.S. transplant recipients developed brain infections from their new organs. The University of Mississippi Medical Center recently revealed that one child donor had a rare, often fatal infection that was not diagnosed until after organ transplantation had occurred. “This is a difficult topic, because organs are really scarce and patients who need a transplant are typically quite ill and need a transplant quickly, and sometimes it’s hard to do all the testing that one could possibly think of for all the infections out there,” said Dr. Eileen Farnon, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which coordinates U.S. organ transplantations, in 1% of cases organ donors can transmit diseases, including West Nile virus, rabies, HIV, tuberculosis and even cancer. [HealthDay via Businessweek]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.