Surgeons object to new CDC organ-screening guidelines

New guidelines for stricter testing of organ donors are raising concerns among transplant surgeons, who fear they may limit availability of organs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines recommending that all organ donors be checked for HIV and hepatitis B and C with the most sensitive screening method, known as nucleic acid testing, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Mitchell Henry, president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, and chief of the transplant center at Ohio State University, tells the Health Blog the guidelines go too far in the pursuit of safety, and don't take into consideration the realities of organ transplantation — which is often performed in life-and-death situations with little time to spare.