A lung transplant recipient marries her donor’s brother
Jennifer, a double lung transplant recipient, felt an “instant connection” after meeting the brother of her organ donor, Jill Ellis. The two are now happily married and are forever grateful for Jill’s legacy as an organ donor.
People with HIV are now allowed to donate kidneys or livers to those who are HIV positive, health officials announced on Tuesday.
The new law — part of the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act — is aimed at reducing wait times for transplants, as reported by the AP. It went into effect on Wednesday, November 27.
“This legislation removes unnecessary barriers to kidney and liver transplantation, expanding the organ donor pool and improving outcomes for HIV-positive transplant recipients,” US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement, according to the AP.
DEATH CAN EVEN BE A NEW VALUE LIMIT LEADS TO A FAMILY’S CLEAR DECISION
Prior to this change, HIV-positive organs were only allowed as part of research, which the government began allowing in 2013.
People with HIV are now allowed to donate kidneys or livers to those who are infected with HIV, health officials announced on Tuesday. (iStock)
The decision comes after a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that recipients of organs from HIV-positive donors “had similarly high survival rates and lower rates of organ rejection” over four years. time, AP reports.
A total of 500 kidney and liver transplants from HIV-positive donors have been performed in the US as part of a research study.
LEUKEMIA PATIENT RECEIVED THE FIRST INVOLVEMENT OF A DECEASED ORGAN DONOR.
“Research shows that kidney and liver transplants between HIV-positive donors and recipients can be performed safely and effectively,” said Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD, in an HHS statement.
“Studies show that kidney and liver transplants between HIV donors and recipients can be done safely and effectively.”
“This policy change demonstrates our commitment to following the evidence and updating our methods as we learn more. By removing research requirements where they are no longer needed, we can help more people living with HIV receive life-saving transplants.”
“It increases the supply at a time when the demand is the greatest,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News. Siegel practices at NYU Langone Health, which will perform 576 organ transplants by 2023. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News, works at NYU Langone Health, which will perform 576 organ transplants by 2023.
“I don’t have a problem with HIV organs being used, because we have people dying on the waiting list here,” Siegel told Fox News Digital. “It increases supply at a time when demand is greatest.”
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“HIV is now an incurable disease, and what matters is the viral load in the blood – and we can get the viral load to zero,” he continued.
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“Donating HIV-positive organs to HIV-positive people makes perfect sense. There’s no added risk there.”
The wait for a liver transplant can be up to five years, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. (iStock)
Most people in the US on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant will wait three to five years, according to the American Kidney Fund.
The wait for a liver transplant can be up to five years, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is also seeking public comment on taking steps to allow heart, lung and pancreas transplants from HIV-positive donors, HHS reports.
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