A man who underwent a liver transplant developed a life-threatening allergy to nuts from the new organ.

Australian doctors say the donor liver had come from a 15-year-old boy who died of an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts.

They say the case highlights the need for careful screening before a donor organ is deemed suitable for transplant purposes.

Such an allergy would be noted during the organ procurement process, which involves obtaining information on the donor's health history.

But in this case the doctors were unaware of the boy's condition, as it had not been formally diagnosed as a nut allergy.

The 60-year-old man who received the organ had been suffering from chronic hepatitis B and a cancerous tumour.

He underwent the transplant at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney in 1999.

Cashews

The day after being sent home, he ate some cashews.

Within 15 minutes he developed anaphylaxis - a life-threatening allergic reaction causing tightness in the throat, severe vomiting, dizziness and blurred vision.

He recovered after hospitalization and drug treatment.

Tests showed that he had an allergy to cashews, peanuts and sesame seeds - all foods to which the boy had also been allergic.

Doctors say the reaction probably developed because the man's new liver contained allergy-inducing antibodies.

About 11 months after his transplant, the man underwent more tests that suggested his allergy was waning, but he died two years after the operation from complications related to the liver tumour.

The case is reported in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.