In Rio de Janeiro, six transplant recipients have tested positive for HIV after receiving organs that were mistakenly labeled as safe. The Rio Health Secretary’s office confirmed that a laboratory responsible for testing the organs has been suspended, as the infected organs from two donors were transplanted into six patients on the state’s transplant waiting list.
The health authorities are now testing other organs stored by the lab since December 2023, when it began operations, to determine if they were also infected. The issue was discovered after a heart transplant recipient reported health complications and subsequently tested positive for HIV. Two other recipients, each of whom received a kidney, were also confirmed to have contracted the virus.
The serious error has raised concerns among medical professionals, who fear it may undermine public trust in the organ donation system. Authorities have stated that the transplant program, active since 2006, has helped over 16,000 individuals with organ transplants in Rio de Janeiro.