AIDS Activist Gets New Liver

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Activist Gets New Liver

Boston Globe (03.07.02) - Thursday, March 07, 2002
Alice Dembner

Belynda Dunn, the Dorchester, Mass., AIDS activist who battled last summer to get her health insurer to pay for a liver transplant, received a new liver Tuesday at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dunn was recovering yesterday in intensive care, according to family and friends. "They've got her sedated for pain, but she's doing very well," said her mother, Addie Smith.

Smith and Dunn temporarily moved to Pittsburgh in December to await the life-saving surgery. Dunn, 49, has both HIV and hepatitis C, and her liver function had deteriorated markedly in the last few weeks. Dunn learned early Tuesday morning that her seven-month wait for a liver had ended. Dunn is well known for her HIV prevention efforts in Boston area black churches. She went public with her own problems last July after her insurer, Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP), refused to pay for the transplant because they considered it experimental because Dunn is HIV- positive.

After Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino led a campaign to raise private funds for Dunn's transplant, and a state Medicaid appeals board approved coverage of a liver transplant for another HIV- positive patient, NHP reversed its decision. NHP will pay for any costs above the $240,000 that was raised by the mayor, according to Dunn's employer, AIDS Action Committee. As a result of Dunn's case and that of the second HIV patient, the state Public Health Department is developing guidelines to help health insurers and health professionals decide which procedures are truly experimental and which should be considered part of standard care. "I'm hopeful that this will be a nationally recognized effort," Commissioner Howard Koh said yesterday.
020307
AD020415

Copyright © 2002 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.