Shocking: Michigan Man Dies of Rabies After Organ Transplant

When you're in the doctor's office and they bring up surgery, who doesn't cringe. Is it possible you won't survive the surgery? Is everything going to be okay? You would probably never think of long-term effects from that surgery in general, or your specific procedure because you would think that the long-term benefits of the process of cutting you open would result in a better quality of life.

For a Michigan man in need of surgery for a simple organ transplant, the consequences were not only heart-breaking, but incredibly devastating. The Michigan donor recipient went in for the procedure in December of 2024 according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services earlier this week. The surgery was intended to replace his kidney with one that was donated.

Unfortunately there were horrible side effects to this particular organ transfer. According to experts it is very, very rare for one human to pass rabies on to another human. But apparently that is exactly what happened in this situation through the transplanting of his kidney. Sadly the man passed away a month later in January of this year.

After his surgery at a hospital in Ohio a public health investigation determined that the cause of the victim's death was in fact rabies. According to MDHHS spokesperson Lynn Sutfin, 'The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services worked closely with the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the investigation. The CDC Rabies Laboratory made the rabies confirmation.'