Michigan resident dies after getting rabies from a transplanted organ

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services confirmed this week that a resident of the state died of rabies following an organ transplant in January.

“I can confirm that a Michigan resident died of rabies in January 2025. The person was a recent organ transplant recipient, and a public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ,” MDHHS spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said, according to WOOD-TV.

The organ recipient, who has not been named, had the organ implanted at The University of Toledo Medical Center in Ohio in December.

“A patient receiving care at The University of Toledo Medical Center died in January 2025 of rabies. That patient underwent a deceased donor organ transplant in late 2024 at UTMC. … The health system has worked closely with public health authorities and has conducted a thorough review of this case, which found all best practices and standard safety protocols were appropriately followed,” UTMC told ABC News.

It’s the first human to die of rabies in Michigan since 2009, according to WWJ-TV.

MDHHS has not said which organ was transplanted into the deceased patient. Spokesperson Lynn Sutfin stressed that there was no threat to the general public, according to The Associated Press.

There was, however, a threat to people in other states who got organs, specifically corneas, from the same organ donor. The donor was not from Michigan or Ohio themselves, MDHHS said according to WOOD-TV.

“Based on the concerning symptoms of the kidney recipient who died, CDC worked with Missouri health officials to intercept a fourth corneal graft before it could be implanted into a Missouri resident — even before rabies was confirmed in the donor. All corneal tissue recipients have gotten post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) shots to prevent rabies and are currently healthy,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said according to NBC News.

The CDC also determined that the organ donor had been exposed to a wild animal, possibly a skunk, in Idaho about five weeks before their own death, which allowed for their organs to be donated.