Reply #11: If someone is HIV+ and their meds are working [View All]

[JackBeck]

Their immune system isn't necessarily compromised if their cocktail is working.

The problem may arise, when the immune system continues to reject the transplanted organ, since our immune systems are programmed to recognize what is "foreign". When a person receives a transplant, they have to take medications for the rest of their lives to suppress their natural immune response to reject this "foreign" organ.

But when you're HIV+, your goal is to have a suppressed immune system, since you don't want it to mount a response to fight something foreign in the body. The whole goal for a person who is positive is th live a life where the immune system is in check and doesn't have to produce CD4/T-cells, which are the generals of the immune system.

So this is all a very interesting breakthrough for HIV+ persons who need transplants.