The HIV Organ Policy Equity Act matures: Breaking down barriers for people with HIV

In 2004, Elmi Muller, MD, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa, performed the first transplant of a kidney from a person with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to a recipient with HIV. “At the time, we had quite a lot of HIV+ deceased donors,” says Dr Muller. In South Africa, however, only patients who are eligible for kidney transplantation can receive dialysis, so until Dr Muller created a viable path to transplantation, patients with HIV died from kidney failure.