The News
The US will allow liver and kidney transplants between people with HIV under a new rule announced this week in a move to shorten the wait for organs.
Transplants from HIV patients were banned except in clinical trials, but a recent study confirmed that there were no significant differences between receiving a kidney from a donor with HIV versus one without.
The move will increase organ access to all patients in need of transplants, regardless of HIV status, the study’s author told The Washington Post, as there will be more organs available.
It’s part of a wider change: A ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men was overturned last year, while a leading US pediatricians’ group said HIV-positive mothers can breastfeed if their disease is controlled. HIV has “gone from a death sentence to a completely manageable disease,” the researcher said.
