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

Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 14 Dec 1995
Adam Entous / Reuter

AIDS patient Jeff Getty is so far "doing very well, feels very good," said hospital spokeswoman Alice Trinkl, following the infusion at San Francisco General Hospital, which is affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). "He's up and talking and actually even making jokes."

The historic infusion, which took about a half hour, began shortly after 8:30 pm PST and was carried out by researchers at UCSF and the University of Pittsburgh.

Trinkl said she would provide an update on Getty's condition Friday morning unless his condition changed overnight.

The experimental procedure was attempted because baboons have been found to be resistant to HIV-1, the primary virus causing acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Similar to a blood transfusion, the infusion did not require surgery.

"My doctors want to go forward with an experiment that may not save my life but could well lead to a treatment that will save thousands of others," Getty, a 38-year-old resident of Oakland, Calif., said in a statement before the transplant. "We can't let fears of theoretical risks stop research."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the experiment in August. The experiment went forward over the objections of some animal rights activists.

The transplant was originally scheduled for October but was postponed when Getty developed pneumonia.

It was the first time a bone marrow cell infusion from one species to another, known as a xenotransplant, was attempted using the specific scientific approach that has been approved for this study, researchers said.

If the baboon cells join with the patient's bone marrow cells, as the researchers hope, they believe the patient's augmented bone marrow will then produce human immunodeficiency virus-resistant T-cells in the blood. Theoretically, this would increase his ability to ward off opportunistic infections that can be fatal to AIDS patients, they say.

UCSF Assistant Professor Steven Deeks, the main doctor caring for Getty, said it will take several weeks to determine whether the procedure was safe and to detect signs of any diseases imported from the baboon.

"But it's really going to take three to six months to determine whether or not we start to begin to see the development of baboon derived immune cells," Deeks said.

Deeks emphasized before the tranfusion that, even if the infusion is successful and the baboon cells "take," the patient would not be cured and would remain HIV-infected.

"We recognize that this clinical trial is highly experimental," said Deeks before the infusion. "But we are hopeful that we have a chance to succeed and we should learn a great deal about HIV and the immune system."

A male baboon was killed for Getty's procedure, drawing fire from some animal protection groups.

Martin Stephens, vice president for animal research issues for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), said the group opposed the procedure.

"The HSUS admires Mr. Getty's will to live but we believe that his experiment is misguided," Stephens said. "The HSUS believes that baboons, who are highly intelligent, social and emotional animals, should not be killed for such highly questionable experiments."

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