A lung transplant procedure last fall in Michigan resulted in the death of the patient and illness of a surgeon involved from COVID-19, after both the donor and recipient initially tested negative.

The recipient had chronic obstructive lung disease, and was tested for COVID-19 before the transplantation at University Hospital in Ann Arbor.

Four days after the procedure, the surgeon who had handled the donor’s lungs tested positive for COVID-19.

They also noted that because both the donor and recipient had tested negative for COVID-19, following accepted protocol, the health care workers involved in the procedure were not required to wear N95 masks and eye protection as part of their PPE.

The study encourages transplant centers to consider the benefits of N95 masks and eye protection during transplantation, even with negative COVID-19 tests.