Skip to main content

People With HIV Can Now Receive Livers, Kidneys From HIV-Positive Donors

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 26, 2024.

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Nov. 26, 2024 -- People with HIV can now receive a potentially life-saving kidney or liver from a donor who is also infected with the virus, according to new rules announced Tuesday by the Biden administration.

According to an announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the decision was based on solid evidence that these types of transplants are both safe and effective.

Prior to the change, transplants where both donor and recipient were HIV-positive had only been allowed as part of a research study.

The new rule removes any requirement for clinical research and institutional review board (IRB) approvals of these types of kidney or liver transplants.

“This new policy is a significant step forward in expanding access and reducing wait times for life-saving organ transplants for people with HIV,” said Carole Johnson, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, part of HHS.

HHS said studies showed no differences in outcomes for "kidney transplants between donors and recipients with HIV compared to transplants from donors without HIV to recipients with HIV."

Organ transplants involving HIV-positive donors were first performed in South Africa as far back as 2010, according to the Associated Press.

In 2013, the United States allowed the first such procedures as part of research studies. Since then, more than 500 such transplants have been done in the U.S. as part of such studies, the AP noted.

In 2019, surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore performed the world’s first kidney transplant from a living donor with HIV to an HIV-positive recipient.

So far, the rule change applies only to transplants of kidneys and livers.

However, HHS says it is now soliciting public comment on whether research rules on the HIV-to-HIV organ transplants might need revising when it comes to similar procedures involving the heart, lung, pancreas and other organs.

Sources

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, news release, Nov. 26, 2024
  • Associated Press

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Donor Hearts Might Be Kept Healthy In Cold Storage Longer

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 — More donor hearts could become available for transplant, thanks to a new discovery that could protect them from damage during...

Deaths Waiting For Lung Donation Have Dropped Under New Guidelines

WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025 — New guidelines for allocating donated lungs are saving more lives, a new study says. By prioritizing medical urgency, the guidelines caused a...

Doctors Perform First-Ever Human Bladder Transplant in U.S.

MONDAY, May 19, 2025 — Doctors in Southern California have performed the first human bladder transplant, offering new hope to people with serious bladder problems. The...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.