First lung transplant on HIV+ patient. Looks like some of the

[rasputin1952]

barriers are coming down:

MILAN (Reuters) - Doctors in Italy have performed the world's first lung transplant on an HIV patient, a medical institute in the southern city of Palermo said on Friday.

The man, whose age was not disclosed, had terminal respiratory problems and the transplant was his only chance of survival, doctors said. The patient was said to be in good condition after the operation.

"This is an important event in the progress of transplants," Alessandro Nanni Costa, director of Italy's National Transplant Centre, said in a statement.

Previously for only kidney, liver and pancreas transplants have been performed on HIV patients,...

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http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyid=2007-05-25T153738Z_01_L25433770_RTRUKOC_0_US-ITALY-TRANSPLANT.xml&src=rss

This is a very short article, but it shows me that those who have tragic illness can receive the same treatment anyone else might receive. As far as I know, nothing like this has taken place in the US concerning this.

[SoCalDem]

1. Here in the US, you either need to be famous and or rich

to have much of a shot these days, unless you are very lucky.

My friend has been "on the list" for 8 years now, and her health is failing daily.. Her husband as much as told me that she will "never get her kidney". :(

[ismnotwasm]

3. I'm sorry to hear that

I work in transplant, and we transplant people from all walks of life, and all economic categories. It's very ethically challenging in all areas

Your friend may have a very high PRA--meaning her anti-bodies will "react" with a large percent of the population.

I wish her the very best, and hope she finds a donor soon

[Codeine]

4. I would take some exception to that.

My Mom just received a new liver, and my boss's wife is pretty high on a list for one, and none of us are wealthy.

There is a triage aspect; perhaps there are other health factors that make your friend's wife a less desirable choice?

[MonkeyFunk]

5. My cousin

who is very certainly not rich or famous, got a new heart last year.

I don't think the facts back up your contention.

[rasputin1952]

9. There are a lot of reasons why people can't get an organ

somewhat quickly, compatibility being the major reason, lack of organ donations being #2...:(

I offered a kidney to someone w/AB+ blood and we were a essentially a match, except that I have Hep A,B,C antibodies, which means I can't even donate a toenail anymore...:(

[Rage for Order]

10. Being rich and famous didn't help Walter Payton

He died while on the transplant list. I think he needed a liver, but I'm not 100% certain. It could've been a different organ.

[Donnachaidh]

2. you won't see that here in this country anytime soon, unless the patient

is exceedingly wealthy.

Case in point -- wasn't it Mickey Mantle who drank his liver into collapse, and then was suddenly pushed to the head of the list for transplant? He rated an organ because he was a famous sports figure.

[ingac70]

12. I remember when he got that transplant...

A little baby near where I live needed one, and the city was having a fundraiser to raise $100,000 to get his name on the list. Little fella passed before the money could be raised.

[ingac70]

6. Since the drugs to maintain a transplant...

already suppress the immune system, I'm curious as to the survival rate of HIV patients that receive transplants.
That's got to be a double whammy.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. That's an interesting question.

Since the immune system is compromised, is rejection as big an issue?

Furthermore, in healthy HIV+ patients on the various cocktails, is the immune system compromised yet?

[William769]

8. immune system all depends on the cd4 count.

Someone with a count of 200 or less is in the danger zone, 201 to 300, ok but still monitor above 350 no problems. Also depends on your viral load.

as an example when I was diagnosed my cd4 count was 17 and my viral load was above 300,000. As of today my cd4 count is 403 and my viral load is undetectable, which means I am a healthy person with the exception of being able to still pass on the HIV virus.

[JackBeck]

11. If someone is HIV+ and their meds are working

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.