US approves life-saving organ transplants between people with HIV, removing ‘unnecessary barriers’

People with HIV who need liver and kidney transplants can now receive organs from donors with HIV.

The new rule, which took effect this week, is expected to shorten the wait for organs for all, regardless of HIV status, by increasing the pool of available organs.

“This rule removes unnecessary barriers to kidney and liver transplants, expanding the organ donor pool and improving outcomes for transplant recipients with HIV,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “This evidence-based policy update demonstrates our commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to the care they need.”

Surgical instruments and supplies lay on a table during a June 2016 kidney transplant surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. US health officials announced this week that kidney and liver transplants can now be done between donors and recipients with HIV ((AP Photo/Molly Riley, File))

Health officials said this update was based on research demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of kidney and liver transplants between donors and recipients with HIV. Research protocols remain in place for other organ transplants between donors and recipients that have HIV.

A study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine followed nearly 200 organ recipients for up to four years, comparing those whose kidneys came from donors without HIV. Both groups had similarly high rates of overall survival and low rates of organ rejection.

“Expansion of HIV-to-HIV kidney transplantation outside of research would be a win-win situation, because it will first benefit people with HIV [PWH] who need kidneys by increasing the numbers of organs available from donors with HIV, and then, in turn, there will be more kidneys from donors without HIV for recipients without HIV,” Dr. Christine Durand, the study’s lead co-author and the medical director of the Johns Hopkins Transplant Research Center, said then.

The Biden administration said that the move will streamline the transportation process and increase the pool of available organs, saving lives, reducing wait times, lowering costs, and reducing stigma and discrimination associated with HIV.

“The impact is substantial: Recipients with HIV who elect to receive a kidney from a donor with HIV are 3.3 times more likely to receive a transplant. Even more striking, their median wait time drops from 60.8 months to just 10.3 months—a decrease in wait time that can mean the difference between life and death,” the National Institutes of Health said.

The Department of Health and Human Services building is seen in Washington, DC, in April 2009. The department said the move would be beneficial in multiple ways ((AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File))

Nearly 1.2 million people in the US are living with HIV, and around 13 percent of them are not aware they have it, according to the Foundation for AIDS Research. HIV infection disproportionately impacts men who have sex with other men and racial and ethnic minorities.

HIV, also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus that attacks the cells that help the body fight infection. It is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of a person with HIV or through sharing injection drug equipment. If it is untreated, it can result in AIDS. While those with HIV will have it for life, as no cure exists, people who take medicine and keep an undetectable viral load can live long and healthy lives and will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex.

With reporting from The Associated Press.