UPMC reopens transplant program after mold outbreak
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh-area medical system says it is re-opening its organ transplant program, six days after closing it because of concerns that mold contributed to the deaths of three transplant patients who had fungal infections.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said Sunday that it made the decision after its procedures and treatments were reviewed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It did not say whether mold caused the deaths or whether investigators had found the source of the mold.
In a statement, Dr. Steven Shapiro, UPMC’s chief medical and scientific officer, says patients are being transferred from southern and central Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia for life-saving organ transplants.
UPMC has said a fourth patient was fighting a fungal infection.