Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - August 29, 1986
The victim, Joseph Odell Evans, 30 years old, was admitted at Moses Cone Hospital on Aug. 16 with major head injuries. After he was declared brain dead Aug. 18 his family donated his organs.
A test of Mr. Evans's blood for antibodies to the AIDS virus was negative, the hospital said.
At least two of his organs were transplanted to other people after being removed at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. Hospital officials refused to say which organs had been used or to identify the recipients.
However, a blood sample that was sent along with another organ to a third medical center where an implant was to have been done tested positive for AIDS antibodies, officials said.
The earlier test had masked the antibodies because Mr. Evans had been given a transfusion of 58 units of blood products, more than twice his body's blood volume, officials said.
Transplanted organs have not been found to transmit AIDS, said Betty Hooper, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Organs from individuals with AIDS are, however, "considered as potentially infectious" and should not be used for transplants, according to a statement the center published last year.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome affects the body's immune system, lowering its resistance to common infections. There is no cure for the fatal disease. Doctors say the presence of AIDS antibodies does not necessarily mean that a person will come down with the disease.
Hospital officials, who issued prepared statements but answered no questions, did not comment about the danger posed by the transplants.
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