Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

A Chicago transplant patient filed a medical negligence suit this week against the University of Chicago Medical Center and one of its surgeons, alleging that she contracted HIV and hepatitis C after receiving a kidney from an infected donor.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the hospital knew that the donor, who was homosexual, was in a high-risk group but withheld the information from the patient. According to the lawsuit, had the patient known of the true nature of the donor's lifestyle and the risks associated with receiving his kidney, she would not have consented to the surgery.

Four transplant recipients contracted HIV from the donor, whose infection went undetected in what hospital officials say is the first documented case of the virus being transmitted by organ donation in the U.S. in more than 20 years. Tests conducted on the donor returned negative results probably because the HIV and hepatitis were contracted near the time of death and hadn't had the opportunity to progress. The suit charges medical malpractice for failing to notify the woman of the donor's high-risk behavior and for failing to test her for HIV three months after the transplant—which is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention when organs are donated by high-risk donors.