Organ Transplants
Organ transplants are risky procedures. The risks come not just from the surgery, but also from the organ itself. When you receive an organ transplant, you’re also receiving all the same viruses and diseases that the donor had. In some cases, these diseases can be passed on even if the organs are screened for them. Hepatitis C is one of the most common diseases transmitted through organ transplants.
Organ transplant recipients are at risk of hepatitis C because the virus can live in organs for weeks or even months after the donor has died. In fact, hepatitis C is one of the most common infectious complications of organ transplantation.
The risks are even higher for people who receive transplants from donors who were known to have hepatitis C when they died. For example, in one study of more than 1,000 liver transplant recipients in the United States, about half of those who received organs from donors with hepatitis C went on to develop the virus themselves. Similarly, a study of kidney transplant recipients found that more than 80% of those who received organs from donors with hepatitis C developed the virus after their transplant surgery.
