AIDS Patient Who Received Baboon Cells Is 'Doing Well'

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Patient Who Received Baboon Cells Is 'Doing Well'

New York Times (12/18/95) P. A15
Altman, Lawrence K.

Physicians report that Jeff Getty, the man who received a baboon bone marrow transplant last week in an attempt to fight AIDS, is "doing very well." Getty is in an isolation room at San Francisco General Hospital to help prevent infection while his immune system is even more weakened by the chemotherapy and radiation he received prior to the surgery. The doctors check Getty twice a day--looking for signs of infection and signs of internal bleeding caused by a lack of platelets, and checking his white blood cell count. As expected, Getty's level has dropped from last week's counts because it takes time for his own immune system to be suppressed by the chemotherapy and radiation. "The hope is that his white blood cell count goes very low, but only for a brief period of time," said Dr. Paul A. Volberding, one of the primary investigators in the experiment. Volberding explained that if the number does not drop enough, there would be concerns that they did not give enough conditioning from the chemotherapy and the radiation to make room for the baboon cells. Another investigator, Dr. Steven Deeks of San Francisco General, noted that the most dangerous time for Getty will be in two to four weeks, at which time the immune suppression from the two treatments will be greatest. Related Story: USA Today (12/18) P. 1D

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