university of chicago

An organ donor in Chicago infected four transplant patients with the AIDS virus in what a donor group says is the first such transmission in the United States in 13 years. The transplants occurred in January at three Chicago hospitals. The patients infected with HIV and the virus for hepatitis C did not learn of their status until the last two weeks, according to medical officials. Michael Millis, chief of the transplantation program at the University of Chicago Hospitals, said his staff was told of the problem on November 1 and brought in the two patients who had transplants there for testing the next morning.

Julio and Mauricio Cabrera are gay brothers who are convinced their sexual orientation is as deeply rooted as their Mexican ancestry. They are among 1,000 pairs of gay brothers taking part in the largest study to date seeking genes that may influence whether people are gay. The Cabreras hope the findings will help silence critics who say homosexuality is an immoral choice. If fresh evidence is found suggesting genes are involved, perhaps homosexuality will be viewed as no different than other genetic traits like height and hair color, said Julio, a student at DePaul University in Chicago.

The international leather gathering is popular with gay and bi men, but health experts note that monkeypox is not limited to this population.

A woman in her 30s who is one of the four organ transplant patients infected with HIV and hepatitis was not told that the infected donor was high-risk, her attorney said.