HIVMA Hails the First U.S. HIV+ to HIV+ Organ Transplant

Statement from HIVMA Board Chair, Carlos del Rio, MD, FIDSA

HIVMA congratulates Johns Hopkins University on becoming the first U.S. medical center to successfully conduct an organ transplant from an HIV-infected deceased donor to a recipient living with HIV infection. This progress, stemming from enactment of the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, is rewarding to the HIV care providers whose advocacy efforts HIVMA led, to turn the HOPE Act into law in 2013. Ending a long-standing ban on transplants with HIV positive organs, even for research purposes, HOPE modernized outdated federal law to reflect the current medical understanding of HIV infection. For patients living with HIV, deceased donors with the same infection represent a unique source of organs holding the potential to save the lives of hundreds of patients with HIV struggling with liver and kidney failure each year. We look forward to seeing this medical breakthrough offer hope to more people living with HIV infection who are in need of organ transplants. 

For further background, please see HIVMA’s 2011 policy statement and FAQ on HIV+ to HIV+ organ transplantation.

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