Welcome to paradox number 8,927,371 in the continuing series emanating from the way in which the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been handled as a matter of public heath policy.
The indication that 9% of organ donors fit the high risk profile (gay sex, IV drug use, etc.) was rather shocking. In addition to that being a risk I had assumed was effectively screened - it give one pause to consider why someone who engaged in that behavior would want to be an organ donor. In this particular case - it had to be someone who engaged in risky behavior in a relatively short time period before death. That's downright mean.
Since 1985 when three people died of AIDS after receiving infected organs from a man in Virginia, there have been more than 400,000 transplants in the U.S., without a 4 reported cases of transmission.
Not likely to be real comforting to the unlucky 4, and hardly six-sigma quality controls.
I would guess the high percentage of high risk donors include people who might have travelled to Africa or Asia at some point in their lives, or had ever done any drugs etc. In other words things done long ago not within the incubation period. If they knew this guy was a practicing homosexual and drug addict it changes things.