Rabies kill four after transplant from single donor

Jet, July 26, 2004

Four people have died from rabies after receiving a transplant from an Arkansas man, William Beed Jr., who didn't know he had the disease, according to officials.

The first three fatalities, which the government said were the first from rabies after an organ transplant, died following the procedures at Baylor University Medical Center.

The victims were identified as kidney recipient Cheri Jean Wells Biggs, 50, of Mesquite, liver recipient Jimmy Paul Martin, 52, of Oklahoma and Joshua "Bubba" Hightower, 18, of Gilmer, TX.

The fourth victim died from an infected artery, but the hospital didn't know it came from the infected donor at the time because Baylor only tracks organs and tissues, not arteries. Baylor officials said they are planning to review their tracking system for arteries. Officials did not release the name or dates of surgery or death of the fourth victim, but said there's no chance of more infections because tissue and organs are destroyed after seven days.

Another person, who received Beed's lungs at a Birmingham, AL, hospital, died of complications in surgery.

Organs from Beed, 20, of Texarkana, AK, were donated after he died of a brain hemorrhage. He hadn't shown symptoms of rabies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Donated organs are never tested for rabies. The strain detected in the victims' bodies is one commonly found in bats, health officials said.