Finding into death of Karen Elizabeth Wilkinson

44y · Female·Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-like virus infection following failed renal transplant

A 44-year-old woman died on 1 January 2007, six days after receiving a cadaveric renal transplant. She was one of three organ recipients from the same donor who died within six days of each other from a novel lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-like arenavirus transmitted via the donor organs. The virus was unknown at the time of transplantation and could not have been detected by standard screening. Key clinical lessons include: the importance of inter-hospital communication when multiple recipients receive organs from the same donor to identify common complications earlier; ensuring transplant teams receive unfiltered donor information directly rather than through telephone relay; considering donor exposure history and systemic symptoms during screening; and improving family communication throughout critical illness. While earlier communication might have enabled faster diagnosis, the outcome was not altered, and the deaths were not foreseeable or preventable given available knowledge in 2006.