In September 2008, the world's first organ transplants from a HIV-positive donor to HIV-positive recipient took place in Cape Town, South Africa.
Two kidney transplants were carried out at Cape Town's Groote Schuur hospital. The surgeon, who carried out the operations, Dr. Elmi Muller, said the operations had been highly successful and both male recipients of the kidneys had been discharged from hospital and were doing well.
Before then, the organs of HIV-positive donors were simply discarded, and HIV-positive patients were not eligible for organ transplants.
A consultant nephrologist said that while giving HIV-negative organs was better for patients, most HIV-positive patients were open to accepting an HIV-positive kidneys.
But receiving an HIV-infected organ is not without risks for the patient. In receiving donated organs, they can receive a new strain of HIV.
If the strain is a drug-resistant strain, the recipient could also develop resistance to life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs.
In South Africa, HIV drug resistance is still ralatively low.
South Africa has the highest number of HIV-positive people in the world, meaning a large proportion of organ donors are HIV-positive.
An estimated 5.7 million, out of a total 48 million South Africans, are infected with HIV.
Even though organ transplants from an HIV-positive donor to HIV-positive recipients is still in clinical trials and has obstacles such as drug-resistant strain, it is a great news for South Africans and other HIV-positive people in the world.
I think this is a great way for people who are HIV-positive to get a functioning kidney without the scare of being resistant to an HIV-negative kidney. Seeing that they are a big part of the South African community, this is a great finding for these individuals. Even though there are still risks with getting an HIV-positive organ, I still believe it is great for HIV-positive patients to be able to finally organ transplant to each other.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great opportunity for the HIV patients who have so much stress on their plate to begin with. Just like the rest of us, they have equal right to accept a donating kidney and instead of discarding donated HIV kidneys, they can be used for those that are positive HIV. Before doing the organ transplant it is absolutely important to be aware of the risks and consequences that might come with accepting the kidney. But for an individual that has no risk and is HIV positive, if an opportunity is coming along where one HIV patient can help the other then it should be taken.
ReplyDeleteOrgan transplantation and even donating blood (in many countries) raises many concern for the spread of HIV. For example, my uncle knew a couple in India who died because of AIDs. The wife contracted HIV through receiving blood during her pregnancy. They ended up having two daughters before they even realized that she had HIV. Not only the husband got HIV, but so did both their daughters. The couple’s condition worsened so drastically that they both died within a few years. Today both the daughter, age 16 and 14, are being raised by their aunt. However, in countries where AIDs is so common such as Africa, there might be a shortage for organ transplants. AIDs patients are receiving organs from other HIV positive patients, even though this seems dangerous, the patients life is being saved. Now they have the chance to live longer until a healthy organ is obtained, or even till a cure of HIV/AIDs is found.
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