TOLEDO, Ohio — EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with a statement from the University of Toledo Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon.
A Michigan resident died of rabies after receiving a transplanted organ in Lucas County earlier this year, according to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. Dr. Carl Schmidt, a deputy coroner with the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, stated that the recipient, who had a kidney transplant in December, contracted the viral disease through the donated organ.
“The cause of death is rabies and complications,” Schmidt stated. “The diagnosis was confirmed by sending tissue to the CDC.”
The University of Toledo confirmed Wednesday that the transplant took place at the University of Toledo Medical Center.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services collaborated with the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the case, which is the first human case of rabies in Michigan since 2009. The tests were carried out in the CDC’s Rabies Lab.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, no human rabies cases have been reported in the state since 1970.
The CDC and state health departments confirmed that no additional people are at risk of rabies exposure.
“A multi-state public health investigation was conducted to determine the risk of exposure to the recipient and found no risk to the general public,” Heather Burnette, spokesperson for the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, explained. “Because the recipient was a Michigan resident, this will not reflect as an Ohio human rabies case.”
Kara Steele, a representative from Life Connection of Ohio, was unable to comment on the specific case but did inform WTOL 11 that a donor risk assessment interview is conducted prior to any organ donation.
“[It gathers] a potential donor’s comprehensive medical and social history on top of a physical assessment and lab work in order to ensure the safety of organs for transplantation,” Steele told the crowd.
“If an organ procurement organization received word from a transplant center concerning any recipient issues, the organ procurement organization would reach out to additional centers that transplanted other organs from a donor hero to see how their recipients are doing and then report back.”
The identities of the recipient and donor have not been revealed.
The University of Toledo Medical Center issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying:
“In January 2025, a patient receiving care at The University of Toledo Medical Center died from rabies.
That patient received an organ transplant from a deceased donor in late 2024 at UTMC. Person-to-person rabies transmission is extremely rare, with only a few documented cases involving organ transplantation.
Toledo Health is dedicated to the safety and well-being of all of its patients. The health system collaborated closely with public health authorities and conducted a thorough review of this case, which determined that all best practices and standard safety protocols were followed correctly.
We will not provide any additional information at this time in order to respect our patient’s and their family’s privacy.”
UTMC is the sole organ transplant center in northwest Ohio.
If you suspect you have been exposed to rabies, the CDC recommends that you contact a healthcare provider right away. Rabies can infect any mammal, but bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes are particularly susceptible.
According to the CDC, rabies kills fewer than ten people in the United States each year.
