For the first time in the U.S. since AIDS screening began 25 years ago, an organ recipient at a city hospital has contracted HIV from a live donor. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the male kidney donor passed the initial screening, but in between the screening and the donation in 2009, had unprotected sex with another man. Testing on the patient a year after surgery confirmed he or she had contracted HIV. more ›

Widow Kimberly Liew, whose husband Vincent died in 2002 after contracting uterine cancer from an infected kidney transplant, was shocked when a judge ruled that NYU Medical Center was not liable for Vincent's death. Liew, who was suing for $3 million, won't receive any money, even though the family of another patient who died after receiving a diseased organ from donor Sandy Cabrera was awarded $750,000 from the hospital. Liew said that despite the verdict, "It's very important for the world to know what happened to him. Hopefully, it will save lives." more ›

The NY Sun has an alarming headline today: "40,000 New Yorkers Flee State for Atlanta," a fact that may be harshing the "southern hospitality" vibe Georgia had going for it. The newcomers are calling their new hometown a "second-tier city," and one woman declared: "If my kids have a Southern accent, I will kill myself." Unsurprisingly, the ex-NYers stick together down there, going so far as to start their own MySpace group -- while one keeps a blog called Voted Off the Island. As for the Atlanta locals, they seem welcoming, as the director of the Gone With the Wind Museum noted: "Since 9/11, everybody in the country has bonded with New York." The upsides to the move come off as few and far between in the article, perhaps the only one being that you can buy a 4-bdrm house there, with a yard, for $275K. The downsides: no good pizza, bagels, and no Central Park. more ›

Over the weekend the Washington Post took note of New York City's latest effort in saving people's lives; reportedly we'll be deploying "a special ambulance to collect the bodies of people who have died suddenly from heart attacks, accidents and other emergencies and try to preserve their organs." The program is funded by the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration, and allegedly would add nearly 35,000 additional transplants to the current annual count. more ›

The sales manager at a Long Island reception hall donated one his kidneys to a rather new friend: A client whose wedding he booked in 2003. Rick Bellando works at Oheka Castle in Huntington, Long Island and rented the historic mansion to Matthew Fulgieri and his bride and became friends with the pair while helping them plan their wedding. more ›