Chicago patient sues over HIV kidney

CHICAGO, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A lawsuit contends a Chicago hospital didn't tell a patient her new kidney came from a homosexual donor who turned out to have hepatitis and the HIV virus.

The 33-year-old patient, whose name was not revealed, sued the University of Chicago Medical Center on the grounds that she would have refused the new organ if she had know the donor came from a high-risk lifestyle, the Chicago Tribune said Tuesday.

The woman is the fourth patient to contract hepatitis and HIV from the donor, who had been killed in a car accident in 2007. The patient tested negative prior to organ removal, likely because the infection was recent, the Tribune reported.

The Chicago Sun-Times said federal regulations require transplant patients be told if they are receiving organs from a gay donor due to the risk of HIV and AIDS being involved.

The plaintiff in the case had the kidney removed and is back on dialysis. However she has tested positive for both hepatitis C and HIV.