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1 donor, missteps, 3 infected patients

Case of hepatitis C at Children’s Hospital, 2 others in Ky. traced to preventable errors

By Chelsea Conaboy

 |  Globe Staff  

  December 22, 2011

A child treated at Children’s Hospital Boston was infected with hepatitis C by a piece of a blood vessel that was transplanted in September from a donor who was infected. Two people in Kentucky who received kidneys from the same donor also were infected, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. The agency traced the transmission in Massachusetts to an error in tissue testing and delays in communication between the Kentucky transplant center and public health officials. The incident highlights the need for improvements in transplant safety and tracking, said a CDC official.

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