Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
United Press International - September 17, 2007
The blanket exclusion of HIV-infected patients can no longer be justified based on the early results demonstrating the safety and efficacy of transplantation in this group of patients, reported the Transplantation journal.
Dr. Peter G. Stock and Dr. Michelle E. Roland, both of University of California, San Francisco, say anti-HIV drug combinations -- highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART -- have greatly decreased the risk of death from AIDS and other causes in patients with HIV. However, as these patients live longer, patients are at risk of other HIV-related complications, including kidney and liver disease related to hepatitis B and C.
Studies performed in the post HAART era show promising results for kidney and liver transplants, the researchers said.
For example, in one study of liver transplantation in HIV-positive patients, the three-year survival rate was 73 percent -- similar to that of HIV-negative patients.
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