Michigan Man Contracts Rabies Through Organ Transplant, Dies Weeks After Surgery

One month after receiving an organ transplant, a Michigan patient died from a disease many Americans think only exists in horror stories and animal control PSAs: rabies.

The unidentified man died in January after contracting rabies from the organ he received in December 2024 at a hospital in Toledo, Ohio — a rare and deadly transmission that has prompted a public health investigation.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) confirmed the report on Thursday. No other details about the patient, including their identity or the type of organ received, have been released.

"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 in an email to People.

Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system and is nearly always fatal once symptoms are reflected. Early signs include fever, headache, and fatigue, before escalating to hallucinations, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, and hydrophobia (fear of water).

In the United States, human rabies cases are extremely rare, with only 1 to 3 reported annually. Most cases are caused by unrecognized exposure to bats, raccoons, and skunks, which are the leading sources of rabies in the U.S. Worldwide, the majority of rabies deaths are linked to dog bites.

The case marks one of the very few documented cases of rabies transmission through organ transplantation in the U.S.--a process that, while tightly regulated, does not require rabies screening in deceased donors.

The incident has reignited conversations among public health experts about whether these rare infections warrant more aggressive screening measures during the transplant process.

“Health officials worked together to ensure that people, including health care providers, who were in contact with the Michigan individual were assessed for possible exposure to rabies,” Sutfin pointed out, in a report by the Associated Press.

No additional illnesses linked to this case have been reported so far.

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